A Rights-based Approach to Indigenous Sovereignty, Self-determination and Self-government in Canada

The Right ◽

Human Rights Based Approach ◽

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) calls for the right to self-determination, as self-determination is a prerequisite for Indigenous people to recongnize their political, social, economic, and collective human rights. Canada has historically been unsupportive of UNDRIP as the federal government considers UNDRIP at odds with Canadian sovereignty and existing Canadian institutions. While the right to self-government is currently protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, it is defined narrowly and falls short of allowing meaningful self-government for the majority of Indigenous people. This paper considers the conflicting nature of self-determination and self-government through considering the impact of Indigenous sovereignty on state sovereignity, an analysis of various approaches to self-government in Canada, and the feasability of adopting a rights-based approach to self-government. This paper concludes that utilizing a human rights-based approach to self-government addresses the perceived conflicts at the state-level while providing for the creation of meaningful self-government arrangements. Self-government arrangements must be created by Indigenous communities for Indigenous communities in order to reflect the diverse needs of Indigenous people regardless of their territorial affiliation or formal Indian status.

Evolving Legal Protections for Indigenous Peoples in Africa: Some Post-UNDRIP Reflections

African Journal of International and Comparative Law ◽

10.3366/ajicl.2018.0236 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 339-365

Author(s):

Derek Inman ◽

Dorothée Cambou ◽

Stefaan Smis

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Informed Consent ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Regional Level ◽

Self Determination ◽

African Continent ◽

African Context ◽

Human Rights Norms ◽

Prior to the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) many African states held a unified and seemingly hostile position towards the UNDRIP exemplified by the concerns outlined in the African Group's Draft Aide Memoire. In order to gain a better understanding of the protections offered to indigenous peoples on the African continent, it is necessary to examine the concerns raised in the aforementioned Draft Aide Memoire and highlight how these concerns have been addressed at the regional level, effectively changing how the human rights norms contained within the UNDRIP are seen, understood and interpreted in the African context. The purpose of this article is to do just that: to examine in particular how the issue of defining indigenous peoples has been tackled on the African continent, how the right to self-determination has unfolded for indigenous peoples in Africa and how indigenous peoples' right to free, prior and informed consent has been interpreted at the regional level.

19. Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights

Human Rights: Politics and Practice ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198708766.003.0020 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Havemann

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Rights ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Self Determination ◽

State Sovereignty ◽

Group Rights ◽

Indigenous Group ◽

The Right ◽

This chapter examines issues surrounding the human rights of Indigenous peoples. The conceptual framework for this chapter is informed by three broad, interrelated, and interdependent types of human rights: the right to existence, the right to self-determination, and individual human rights. After describing who Indigenous peoples are according to international law, the chapter considers the centuries of ambivalence about the recognition of Indigenous peoples. It then discusses the United Nations's establishment of a regime for Indigenous group rights and presents a case study of the impact of climate change on Indigenous peoples. It concludes with a reflection on the possibility of accommodating Indigenous peoples' self-determination with state sovereignty.

Indigeneity

Anthropology ◽

10.1093/obo/9780199766567-0199 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Paulette F. Steeves

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Political Identity ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Indigenous Populations ◽

Historical Continuity ◽

Regional Area ◽

The World ◽

There are minimally 370 million Indigenous people in the world. The term Indigenous was not used to identify human groups until recently. Indigenous people are often identified as the First People of a specific regional area. Indigeneity as applied to First People came into use in the 1990s, as many colonized communities fought against erasure, genocide, and forced acculturation under colonial regimes. An often-cited definition of Indigenous peoples is one by Jose Martinez Cobo, special rapporteur for the UN Sub-Commission. Cobo’s 1986 report was completed for the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on Prevention and Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, thirty-fifth session, item 12 of the provisional agenda, titled, “Study of the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations.” Cobo described Indigenous people, communities, and nations as groups that have a “historical continuity with pre-colonial societies” within territories they developed, and as communities that “consider themselves distinct from other sectors of societies” now in their territories. Cobo further stressed that Indigenous people and communities are minorities within contemporary populations that work to preserve their ethnic identities and ancestral territories for future generations. It is important to include displaced people whom prior to colonization identified with specific land areas or regional areas as homelands, as well as Indigenous communities that have for decades been in hiding in areas away from their initial homeland areas. Many descendants of Indigenous people were forced to hide their identities for their own safety due to colonization and genocidal policies focused on physical and cultural erasure. That does not make them non-Indigenous. It makes them survivors of genocide, erasure, and forced acculturation. Many Indigenous people are just coming to terms with the impact of ethnic cleansing and the work to reclaim and revive their identities and cultures. Indigenous is both a legal term, and a personal, group, and pan-group identity. Scholars have argued there are at least four thousand Indigenous groups, but that number is likely very low. Indigeneity is not as simple as an opposition to identity erasure or a push back against colonization. Indigeneity is woven through diverse experiences and histories and is often described as a pan-political identity in a postcolonial time. However, that can be misleading, as the world does not yet exist in a postcolonial state, despite ongoing concerted efforts by Indigenous people and their allies in political and academic spheres to decolonize institutions and communities. Diverse Indigenous communities weave Indigeneity through a multifaceted array of space and time to revive identities and cultural practices and to regain or retain land, human rights, heritage, and political standing.

Protecting expressions of Folklore within the Right to Culture in Africa

Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad ◽

10.17159/1727-3781/2010/v13i4a2700 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

Enyinna Sodienye Nwauche

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

United Nations ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Customary Law ◽

Cultural Rights ◽

Substantive Content ◽

Human Rights Regime ◽

This paper explores the protection of expressions of folklore within the right to culture in Africa by considering three issues, which are the increased understanding of the right to culture in national constitutions and the recognition that customary law is a manifestation of the right to culture; an expanded understanding of the substantive content of the article 15(1) of the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as part of the right to culture; and the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples marked significantly by the 2007 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. The paper demonstrates how a human rights regime may assist in overcoming some of the deficiencies in the national protection of expressions of folklore in Africa.

Concrete Lessons: Policies and Practices Affecting the Impact of COVID-19 for Urban Indigenous Communities in the United States and Canada

Frontiers in Sociology ◽

10.3389/fsoc.2021.612029 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Heather A. Howard-Bobiwash ◽

Jennie R. Joe ◽

Susan Lobo

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Rights ◽

United Nations ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

The United States ◽

The United Nations ◽

The Impact ◽

Policies And Practices

Throughout the Americas, most Indigenous people move through urban areas and make their homes in cities. Yet, the specific issues and concerns facing Indigenous people in cities, and the positive protective factors their vibrant urban communities generate are often overlooked and poorly understood. This has been particularly so under COVID-19 pandemic conditions. In the spring of 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples called for information on the impacts of COVID-19 for Indigenous peoples. We took that opportunity to provide a response focused on urban Indigenous communities in the United States and Canada. Here, we expand on that response and Indigenous and human rights lens to review policies and practices impacting the experience of COVID-19 for urban Indigenous communities. Our analysis integrates a discussion of historical and ongoing settler colonialism, and the strengths of Indigenous community-building, as these shape the urban Indigenous experience with COVID-19. Mindful of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we highlight the perspectives of Indigenous organizations which are the lifeline of urban Indigenous communities, focusing on challenges that miscounting poses to data collection and information sharing, and the exacerbation of intersectional discrimination and human rights infringements specific to the urban context. We include Indigenous critiques of the implications of structural oppressions exposed by COVID-19, and the resulting recommendations which have emerged from Indigenous urban adaptations to lockdown isolation, the provision of safety, and delivery of services grounded in Indigenous initiatives and traditional practices.

Securing the Rights: A Human Security Perspective in the Context of Arctic Indigenous Peoples

The Yearbook of Polar Law Online ◽

10.1163/22116427-91000134 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 493-522 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kamrul Hossain

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Human Security ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Self Determination ◽

The Arctic ◽

Policy Choices ◽

Human Rights Regime ◽

Right To Development ◽

Abstract In today’s world the state-centric approach of security has been extended to includea human-centric approach. Since individuals are the ultimate victims of any securitythreats, a state is not secure if insecure inhabitants reside within it. The insecurityof individuals arises from various sources of threats, such as from “fear” aswell as from “want”. While often the concept is confused with that of human rights,the concept of human security embraces policy choices in order for the better implementationof human rights. In a sense therefore, it complements both the conceptsof traditional security and human rights. This article addresses the concept in thecontext of the Arctic and its people, particularly in the context of its indigenouspeoples. Obviously, because of differing meanings of the concept, the human securitythreats of the Arctic cannot be seen as similar to those of the other regions ofthe global south. This article nevertheless explores various human security concernsfaced by the Arctic indigenous communities. In addressing the concept of humansecurity in the context of the Arctic, the article affirms the normative developmentoccurred relatively recently in the human rights regime – which today includes a setof group rights called third generation human rights. These broadly include amongothers; the right to environment and the right to development. The presence of thesecategories of rights are therefore argued to ensure human security for which in theArctic perspective a right to self-determination plays a pivotal role, particularly forits indigenous communities.

The Rights Granted to Indigenous Peoples under International Law

International Community Law Review ◽

10.1163/18719732-12341321 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 53-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Taryn Lee

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

International Law ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Effective Means ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Self Determination ◽

The Status ◽

The Right ◽

Political Groups

Indigenous peoples in Australia have been adversely affected by the process of colonisation by the British Crown. Despite Australia’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (‘Declaration’), there is little evidence that it is an effective means of redressing the historical wrongs suffered by Indigenous communities in Australia. This essay outlines the experience of Indigenous peoples in Australia and examines the utility of the Declaration in international law. While observing that Indigenous peoples have had limited engagement with the Declaration, there is still potential for the Declaration to affect change through its underpinning principles of the right to self-determination and the status of Indigenous peoples as distinct political groups.

Bobbio, i diritti umani e la dottrina internazionalista italiana

DIRITTI UMANI E DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE ◽

10.3280/dudi2009-003003 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 485-502

Author(s):

Francesco Salerno

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Relations ◽

International Law ◽

State Level ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Legal Studies ◽

Long Time ◽

Legal Thinking ◽

The Right ◽

- Two elements must be taken into account in order to assess Bobbio's influence on Italian legal thinking regarding human rights and their protection at the international level: on one side, Bobbio's polyedric attitude towards legal studies; on the other side, the difficulty experienced by the Italian doctrine of international law in moving away from traditional positivist and statalist paradigms. The "dialogue" between Bobbio and international legal thinking probably reached its peak in the middle of the 20th Century, when some international law scholars, referring inter alia to Bobbio's reflection on custom as a source of law, developed the idea of "spontaneous law" in connection with international customary rules. Yet, this "contact" had only a limited impact on the law of human rights, probably due to the fact that, for a long time, Italian scholars have generally followed a very cautious approach over the possibility of ascertaining the existence of universal rules for the protection of such rights. Besides, the Italian doctrine of international law, in line with its formalistic and statalist foundations, paid in general little attention to the "promotional" function of international law in the area of human rights, despite Bobbio's attempts to draw the attention to its potentials, especially after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1948). Italian scholars, assuming that international relations and international law should be looked at from the standpoint of the "constitutional sovereignty" of the State, have also been generally unwilling to study the impact of international rules over issues of constitutional law and to assess whether international law requires States to adopt an institutional and legal framework compatible with the "right to democracy". Instead, Bobbio's attention to federalism has proved to be more easy to share among international law scholars, especially in connection with international organizations acquiring a supra-national dimension: the need of assuring respect of human rights within such organizations, just like at State level, has been constantly remarked by Italian authors.

Decolonizing Indigenous Law: Self-Determination and Vulnerability in the Mapuche Case

Education, Human Rights and Peace in Sustainable Development ◽

10.5772/intechopen.89020 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jorge Aillapán Quinteros

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Self Determination ◽

International Human Rights Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

International Human Rights ◽

Indigenous Law ◽

Mapuche People ◽

International Human ◽

In the present essay, the author—and Mapuche, at the same time—critically analyzes the construction of the Mapuche people as a “vulnerable human group” under the International Human Rights Law and then, according to decolonial option, proposes a hypothesis: if the indigenous people are vulnerable, by definition, to claim the right to self-determination, in the Mapuche case, it is an oxymoron.

Environmental governance: Broadening ontological spaces for a more livable world

Environment and Planning E Nature and Space ◽

10.1177/25148486211018565 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 251484862110185

Author(s):

Walker DePuy ◽

Jacob Weger ◽

Katie Foster ◽

Anya M Bonanno ◽

Suneel Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Self Determination ◽

Ontological Pluralism ◽

Cognitive Justice ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

The Right ◽

Land Water

This paper contributes to global debates on environmental governance by drawing on recent ontological scholarship to ask: What would it mean to ontologically engage the concept of environmental governance? By examining the ontological underpinnings of three environmental governance domains (land, water, biodiversity), we find that dominant contemporary environmental governance concepts and policy instruments are grounded in a modernist ontology which actively shapes the world, making certain aspects and relationships visible while invisibilizing others. We then survey ethnographic and other literature to highlight how such categories and their relations have been conceived otherwise and the implications of breaking out of a modernist ontology for environmental governance. Lastly, we argue that answering our opening question requires confronting the coloniality woven into the environmental governance project and consider how to instead embrace ontological pluralism in practice. In particular, we examine what taking seriously the right to self-determination enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) could mean for acknowledging Indigenous ontologies as systems of governance in their own right; what challenges and opportunities exist for recognizing and translating ontologies across socio-legal regimes; and how embracing the dynamism and hybridity of ontologies might complicate or advance struggles for material and cognitive justice.