scholarly journals Towards a Clearer Definition and Understanding of "Indigenous Community" for the Purposes of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, 2010: En Exploration of the Concepts "Indigenous" and "Traditional"

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Sunelle Geyer
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
United Nations ◽  
South African ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Community ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of

Although "indigenous" and "traditional" are key concepts in the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill of 2010, they are not defined therein. The Bill does, however, provide a definition of "indigenous community" that is very clear as to where one should look for indigenous communities for the purposes of this Bill, and that there is likely to be a plurality of such communities, but is very vague as to which groups exactly will qualify as being indigenous.  It is uncertain whether or not the current vague wording of the definition would be strong enough to widen the much narrower understanding of indigenousness prevailing in other South African legislation, the legislation of selected other jurisdictions, and the United Nations. Recommendations are made as to how the definition of an "indigenous community" may be rephrased to address these uncertainties more clearly.

Asian Borderlands and the Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1403-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPH ANTONS
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Cultural Property ◽  
World Intellectual Property Organization ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Nuanced Understanding

AbstractTraditional knowledge related to biodiversity, agriculture, medicine and artistic expressions has recently attracted much interest amongst policy makers, legal academics and social scientists. Several United Nations organizations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity under the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), have been working on international models for the protection of such knowledge held by local and indigenous communities. Relevant national, regional or provincial level legislation comes in the form of intellectual property laws and laws related to health, heritage or environmental protection. In practice, however, it has proven difficult to agree on definitions of the subject matter, to delineate local communities and territories holding the knowledge, and to clearly identify the subjects and beneficiaries of the protection. In fact, claims to ‘cultural property’ and heritage have led to conflicts and tensions between communities, regions and nations. This paper will use Southeast Asian examples and case studies to show the importance of concepts such as Zomia, ‘regions of refuge’ and mandala as well as ‘borderlands’ studies to avoid essentialized notions of communities and cultures in order to develop a nuanced understanding of the difficulties for national and international lawmaking in this field. It will also develop a few suggestions on how conflicts and tensions could be avoided or ameliorated.

scholarly journals Elusive Legal Definition of Terrorism at the United Nations

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-87
Author(s):  
Mercy Obado Ochieng
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
United Nations ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Legal Definition ◽  
Draft Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of

Terrorism is indisputably a serious security threat to states and individuals. Yet, by the end of 2016, there was still lack of consensus on the legal definition of terrorism at the United Nations (UN) level. The key organs of the UN, the Security Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly (UNGA), are yet to agree on a legal definition of terrorism. This disconnect is attributed partly to the heterogeneous nature of terrorist activities and ideological differences among member states. At the UN level, acts of terrorism are mainly tackled from the angle of threats to international peace and security. In contrast, at the state level, acts of terrorism are largely defined as crimes and hence dealt with from the criminal justice paradigm. This article argues that the lack of a concrete legal definition of terrorism at the UN level undermines the holistic use of the criminal justice paradigm to counter-terrorism at the state level. To effectively counter-terrorism the UNSC and the UNGA have to agree on a legal definition of terrorism in their resolutions. This will streamline efforts to combat terrorism at the state level and consolidate counter-terrorism measures at the international level. The draft comprehensive Convention on Measures to Eliminate Terrorism (the Draft Convention) should be tailored to fill gaps and provide for a progressive legal definition of acts of terrorism.

scholarly journals Methodological Insights to Measure the Agenda 2030 at Urban Level in Italy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4598
Author(s):  
Farnia ◽  
Cavalli ◽  
Lizzi ◽  
Vergalli
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Demographic Heterogeneity ◽  
Composite Indices ◽  
Urban Level ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of

In this paper, we deal with the issue of measuring the Agenda 2030 at the urban level in Italy; the results are useful for the policy analysis and dissemination of sustainable development at the local level. The proposed tool merges 53 available economic, social and environmental elementary indicators into 16 composite indices and one composite dimension representing 16 out of 17 Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The contribution of the paper is twofold: While the results of the indices show the geographical and demographic heterogeneity within the country when considering each of the 16 dimensions, the methodological discussion highlights the complexity of the phenomena, due to the multidimensional definition of the Agenda 2030.

The Commonwealth and Domestic Jurisdiction

1961 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Howell ◽  
Robert R. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
South African ◽  
Security Council ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Domestic Jurisdiction ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Racial Policy ◽  
The Government

The United Nations Security Council in a resolution passed on August 9, 1960, reaffirmed that “the United Nations force in the Congo will not be a party to or in any way intervene in or be used to influence the outcome of any internal conflict. …” A Commonwealth state, Ceylon, was a cosponsor of this precedent-making resolution. A few weeks earlier the Government of Malaya had announced a boycott on South African goods in protest against South Africa’s racial policy, another dispute involving a domestic jurisdiction plea. Commonwealth members have been parties to approximately half of the disputes in League of Nations or United Nations history that are fairly classifiable as involving pleas of domestic jurisdiction. These recent actions of Ceylon and Malaya suggest that the newer members of the Commonwealth will be no less active in shaping the domestic jurisdiction concept than the older members have been.

Indigenous Peoples in Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee Sylvain
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Activism ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Work Done

Moringe ole Parkipuny addressed the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (UNWGIP) in 1989 and, for the first time, opened up discussion of the idea that certain groups of hunter-gathers and pastoralists in Africa merited the status of indigenous peoples. Local activists and international organizations took up the cause in the following decades. Several international conferences resulted in new forms of activism, the reformulation of local identities, and a growing body of scholarship addressing African indigeneity. As NGOs built solidarity among relatively scattered groups of pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, often skeptical state governments initially resisted what they saw as demands for recognition of status and claims to “special rights.” Disagreements between state interests and newly organized indigenous groups were expressed at the United Nations during the process of adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); but as the idea of indigeneity evolved through such discussions, African governments gradually came on board. International activism and work done by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights play significant roles in convincing African states to accept the concept of “indigenous peoples.” The issue of developing a definition of “indigenous peoples” appropriate for Africa remains unsettled and continues to present challenges. Mobilization among marginalized groups on the African continent itself, however, has presented NGOs, activists, states, and courts with the opportunity, through well-publicized struggles and several landmark legal cases, to refine the category to better fit with African contexts.

The United Nations and the Evolving Right to Self-Determination

1998 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Quane
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Theoretical Interest ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Elusive Concept

The right of peoples to self-determination is an elusive concept. There is no clear definition of “peoples” or of what the right entails. Instead, there are numerous and at times conflicting interpretations of self-determination. The existence of these various interpretations is not merely of academic or theoretical interest. It can have considerable practical implications.

Prosecutor v. Al-Bashir: Decision Under Article 87(7) of the Rome Statute on the Non-Compliance by South Africa with the Request by the Court for the Arrest and Surrender of Omar Al-Bashir (Int'l Crim. Ct.)

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1061-1090
Author(s):  
Max du Plessis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
United Nations ◽  
South African ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
The United Nations

The ICC considered two central questions: First, whether South Africa failed to comply with its obligations under the statute by not arresting and surrendering Al-Bashir to the Court while he was in South African territory despite having received a request from the ICC under Articles 87 and 89 of the Statute for his arrest and surrender. Second, whether a formal finding of noncompliance by South Africa in this respect and referral of the matter to the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute or to the United Nations Security Council are warranted.

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