Indigenous Peoples: An Emerging Object of International Law

1986 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russel Lawrence Barsh
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Level ◽  
Annual Session ◽  
Indigenous Organizations ◽  
First Time

The Working Group on Indigenous Populations, an organ of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, ended its fourth annual session last August by distributing seven “draft principles” to governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for comment as the first step in preparing “a draft declaration on indigenous rights, which may be proclaimed by the General Assembly.” For the first time since indigenous organizations took their concerns to the international level in 1977, a formal commitment has been made to the development of new law, probably in time for the “cinquecentennial” in 1992 of the “discovery” of the Americas and a proposed international indigenous year.

Recent Books on Human Rights and Groups Review Essays International Law and the Evolution of Indigenous Rights

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Stephen Allen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Critical Stage ◽  
Conditions Of Possibility ◽  
Supranational Level

AbstractThe recent adoption of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has reinvigorated the discourse on indigenous rights. This essay reviews three books – Xanthaki's Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards: Self-Determination, Culture and Land; Gilbert's Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights Under International Law: From Victims to Actors; and Rodriguez-Pinero's Indigenous Peoples, Postcolonialism and International Law: The ILO Regime (1919–1989) – that illustrate the way in which indigenous rights have evolved at the supranational level. Moreover, in their different ways, these important books highlight the conditions of possibility for indigenous peoples at a critical stage in the development of indigenous rights in international law.

The New Legal Context of Indigenous Peoples' Rights: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 141-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Rowland
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
American Law ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
First Time

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a momentous step both for indigenous peoples and the nations in which they reside. For the first time, the global community recognizes the unique rights of indigenous peoples and aspires to protect those rights. The new declaration is shaped by the historical trends of international law, and it will be implemented within the context of local and national law. To provide a better understanding of the declaration and to prepare citizens for its implementation, this essay examines how the international legal approach to rights will affect its implementation. Additionally, this article assesses issues of interpretation that may occur when the declaration is implemented. An examination of the application of the declaration in the context of American law provides an example of potential conflicts that may arise between national law and the declaration. Other legal sources of indigenous rights are described to provide a fuller picture of the ways in which indigenous peoples can protect their rights. Overall, this essay aims to give scholars and the general public grounding in the legal context of the declaration for future research on and observation of the declaration as it is implemented globally.

scholarly journals Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-141
Author(s):  
Garth Nettheim
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Unfinished Business ◽  
Marked Contrast ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Reconciliation Process

The paper begins by noting the low level of reference to Indigenous Australians in the Commonwealth Constitution at the start of Federation, and goes on to discuss the limits to what was achieved by the 1967 amendments. The situation represents a marked contrast with the USA and Canada in terms of treaties and constitutional recognition. In Australia, particularly during the period of the ‘Reconciliation’ process in the 1990s, important steps were taken by Indigenous Australians to identify items of ‘unfinished business’ in a ‘Statement of Indigenous Rights’. But there has been limited progress to meet these aspirations. And Australian law still lacks a tradition of recognition of human rights generally, let alone Indigenous rights. International law, too, largely lacked recognition of human rights, generally prior to the adoption in 1945 of the Charter of the United Nations. The brief references in the Charter were subsequently developed in a range of declarations and of treaties. These applied to people generally, with scant reference to Indigenous peoples. But, since the 1970s, there has been growing international recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples under existing declarations and treaties. Since the 1990s, in particular, the UN system has established specific mechanisms for addressing such issues. On 13 September 2007, the General Assembly finally adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

scholarly journals KULTURA I ROZWÓJ JAKO PODSTAWOWE KATEGORIE ODNIESIENIA W TWORZĄCYM SIĘ PRAWIE LUDÓW TUBYLCZYCH

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Zbigniew B. Rudnicki
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
National Society ◽  
The United Nations

CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT AS THE BASIC CATEGORIESOF REFERENCE IN THE EMERGING LAW OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES Summary In contemporary international relations indigenous peoples constitute particular ethnic communities waiting for a long time for the regulation of their status as subjects of international law. Paradoxically, decolonisation, which helped many colonial societies gain national rights, has not only left the issue of indigenous peoples in countries formerly colonised by the White Man unresolved but has also complicated their status. In practice former colonies such as the United States, Canada, Australia or New Zealand have not regulated the legal status of indigenous peoples, relegating them politically and economically to the margins of society. The rights of indigenous peoples as minority groups living in the former Soviet Union, who are not at all colonial peoples officially, have not been defined either. The category of indigenous peoples now extends to many ethnic groups living in nation-states, who are culturally and linguistically distinct with respect to the dominant segments of the national society. However, assigning the attributes of indigenous peoples to them in the strict sense of the term is questionable and is not dealt with in this article. This article traces the process which leads to indigenous peoples acquiring the status of a fully-fledged subject of international law. It describes attempts that have been made to interpret the rights of indigenous peoples on the grounds of the universal instruments of international law. The principal documents are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (1960), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966), the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), and finally the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1992). Despite the progress made in granting indigenous peoples their rights with the adoption of the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights (2007), it is still difficult to talk of full success, i.e. the recognition of the international identity and rights of indigenous peoples on a par with other sovereign nations.

scholarly journals Indigenous Nations’ Rights in the Balance

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Marcelle Burns
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indigenous Nations ◽  
White Face ◽  
Indigenous Human Rights ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Declaration

The United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) received a mixed reception. Some commentators viewed it as setting important normative standards for the recognition of Indigenous human rights within the international law framework, whilst others have been critical of the declaration for unduly limiting the nature and scope of Indigenous rights (Anaya 2004; Churchill 2011; Davis 2008; Moreton-Robinson 2011; Pitty 2001; Watson and Venne 2012). Indigenous Nations’ Rights in the Balance: An Analysis of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by Charmaine White Face (2013) makes an important contribution to this debate by methodically charting the key changes made during the passage of the declaration through the United Nations process and highlighting the significance of these changes for the recognition and realisation of Indigenous rights.

Indigenous Rights in International Law

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cher Weixia Chen
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Indigenous Movement ◽  
Global Arena ◽  
Domestic Law

Indigenous rights have been gaining traction in international law since World War II, as the indigenous peoples, previously classified under the scope of domestic law, have propelled their cause into the global arena. Indigenous societies are vastly heterogeneous, but they possess some common features, such as lack of statehood, economic and political marginalization, and cultural and racial discrimination. Scholars generally agree that one of the most important goals of the international indigenous movement is to advance indigenous rights under international law. Hence, there have since been several international institutions that seek to address indigenous rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 is the first international document that recognizes the need to protect indigenous groups, though there are also actors and organizations specializing in the field, such as the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP). However, the majority of the indigenous rights scholarship only examines the policy on indigenous rights, rather than the broader contexts of indigenous rights or the rise of indigenous rights as a phenomenon. Therefore, if the ultimate political goal of the indigenous rights scholarship is to better the conditions of indigenous peoples, the study of the efficacy of international legal prescription of indigenous rights is imperative. Otherwise, the considerable efforts put forth by both the academic community and the international indigenous movement could only remain symbolic.

Indigenous Peoples

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations

The rights of indigenous peoples under international law have evolved greatly since the late 1980s. Efforts by indigenous peoples to get their rights recognized under international law started during the League of Nations in the early 1920s, but it was only in 2007 that the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The adoption of the declaration not only marks an important moment in terms of lawmaking; it also represents the achievement of long decades of lobbying and advocacy from indigenous peoples’ representatives. The UN declared the decade 1994–2004 as the First International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, and later 2005–2015 was declared the second such decade. The main objective was the strengthening of international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, education, and health. As a result, in 2002, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established as an advisory body to the UN Economic and Social Council. But it was only in 2007 that the UN General Assembly adopted the UNDRIP, which universally proclaims and consolidates a specific international legal corpus of rights for indigenous peoples. The adoption of the declaration is representative of the significant legal developments of the rights of indigenous peoples under international law. The international legal framework concerns general human rights such as nondiscrimination and equality, as well as very specific collective rights such as self-determination, cultural rights, land rights, and control over natural resources. The establishment of a specific corpus of law dedicated to the rights of indigenous peoples, or sui generis rights, has also meant a proliferation of scholarly literature on the topic. This article does not propose to be exhaustive or comprehensive, but rather to offer a review of some of the texts that can guide the researcher or the reader through the vast and extensive existing literature. First, it focuses on some of the leading sources that provide a general overview on the rights of indigenous peoples. It then examines the institutional and regional approaches. And finally, it focuses on specific issues affecting indigenous peoples, namely historical claims, self-determination, land rights, natural resources, and development.

scholarly journals Conversations about Indigenous Rights: The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Te Aho
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations Declaration

This collection brings together a range of viewpoints and disciplines to emphasise the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration). Authors reflect on the Declaration’s impact 10 years after it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, and on ways to continue the journey towards implementation.

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