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

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 ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Right

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.

scholarly journals Environmental governance: Broadening ontological spaces for a more livable world

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 ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
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.

19. Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Havemann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Group Rights ◽  
Indigenous Group ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals Shaping Indigenous Self-Determination: Promising or Unsatisfactory Solutions?

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Barelli
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Straightforward Manner ◽  
History Of ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Self Determination ◽  
Do So

AbstractThe right of peoples to self-determination represents one of the most controversial norms of international law. In particular, two questions connected with the meaning and scope of this right have been traditionally contentious: first, who constitutes a ‘people’ for the purposes of self-determination, and, secondly, what does the right of self-determination actually imply for its legitimate holders. Against this unsettled background, the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirmed, in a straightforward manner, that indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. In light of the uncertainties that were mentioned above, it becomes necessary to clarify the actual implications of this important recognition. This article will seek to do so by discussing the drafting history of the provision on self-determination contained in the UNDRIP and positioning it within the broader normative framework of the instrument.

scholarly journals Protecting expressions of Folklore within the Right to Culture in Africa

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 ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
The Right

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.

Part I The UNDRIP’s Relationship to Existing International Law, Ch.3 Relationship to Human Rights, and Related International Instruments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scheinin Martin ◽  
Åhrén Mattias
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
International Instruments

This chapter analyses how the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) fits within the broader picture of international legal instruments, with specific reference to related human rights norms. In many respects, the general approach the UNDRIP takes towards indigenous rights is natural. Largely from the very day indigenous peoples' representatives started to address the UN in order to claim recognition of and respect for their rights, the focus of such claims has been on allowing indigenous peoples the possibility to preserve, maintain, and develop their own distinct societies, existing side by side with the majority society. In other words, political rights — or sovereign rights — have always been at the forefront of the indigenous rights regime. In that way, indigenous peoples' rights distinguish themselves from those that apply to minority groups that are primarily individual rights. Thus, when placing emphasis on peoples' rights, the UNDRIP follows in the tradition of the indigenous rights discourse in general, as reflected in Article 3 of the Declaration.

Part I The UNDRIP’s Relationship to Existing International Law, Ch.1 Who Are ‘Indigenous Peoples’?: An Examination of Concepts Concerning Group Membership in the UNDRIP

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Castellino Joshua ◽  
Doyle Cathal
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
The People ◽  
The Status ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Continuum

This chapter assesses the question of the people and peoples to whom the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) applies, tracking the concepts of person, persons, groups, people, and peoples in international law, and the UNDRIP's contribution to these concepts. The opening section of the chapter illustrates that the status of indigenous peoples in customary international law stands closer to peoples in the continuum between minorities and peoples. Minorities, while gaining the right to protection and promotion of their group identity, do not automatically gain the right to self-determination. Indigenous peoples ought to, but their rights towards this are constrained by state interests.

Part II Group Identity, Self-Determination, and Relations with States, Ch.9 Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in the UNDRIP: Articles 10, 19, 29(2), and 32(2)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barelli Mauro
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Effective Protection ◽  
The Right

This chapter addresses the norm of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) found in Articles 10, 19, 29(2), and 32(2). The rights to participation and consultation are crucial to guarantee the effective protection of the rights and interests of any ethno-cultural group, and represent a fundamental aspect of modern democratic societies. Accordingly, FPIC reinforces significantly the provisions of the Declaration dealing with participatory rights, and specifically those concerning the right of indigenous peoples to be consulted with regard to matters affecting them. At a minimum, FPIC requires that the relevant consultations should not be a mere formality, but, rather, should be conducted in good faith and with the objective of finding a common agreement. However, FPIC may also be understood in a more radical manner, namely one requesting that certain measures or projects should not be implemented in the absence of the consent of the indigenous people concerned.

scholarly journals The Cross-Fertilization of Human Rights Norms and Indigenous Peoples in Africa: From Endorois and Beyond

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek M K Inman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Collective Rights ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
African Context ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Cross Fertilization ◽  
Tremendous Impact

Beginning in the 20th century, international law expanded beyond law between nations to eventually embrace the concept of human rights. However, until recently, human rights efforts were focused mostly on individuals, their rights and the obligations of the state in question. Indigenous peoples, on the other hand, have always articulated their collective rights and, to their credit, achieved notable success. While there is no doubt that these achievements should be applauded, what is also of interest, and deserves further study, are the ways in which human rights jurisprudence concerning Indigenous peoples’ collective rights intermingle, cross-fertilize, and integrate. This dynamic relationship between the various sources of Indigenous rights law has had a tremendous impact locally, changing how states interact with the Indigenous peoples living within its borders. The first aim of this article will be to explore the above-mentioned topics in detail with a particular eye on the African human rights systems. Secondly, it will examine how they relate to the Endorois case that was recently decided by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. I conclude with an investigation into what this could mean for Indigenous peoples’ rights in the African context.

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

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 493-522 ◽  
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 ◽  
The Right

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.

Enhancing the Participation of Indigenous Peoples at the Intergovernmental Level to Strengthen Self-Determination: Lessons from the Arctic

2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-55
Author(s):  
Dorothée Cambou
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Policy Goal ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Right

With a focus on the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination, and an eye on Arctic practices, this article analyses the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and its exercise at the intergovernmental level. While the exercise of self-determination necessarily implies the right of indigenous peoples to autonomy in their internal and local matters and their involvement in decision-making at the state level, this article argues that self-determination additionally includes the right of indigenous peoples to be represented and to participate in the international arena: the intergovernmental aspect of self-determination. Although this analysis determines that it is yet too early to indicate the existence of a fully-fledged right, this article also evidences that there is a new policy goal at the un level, accompanied by practices at the arctic regional level, which could support the emergence of such a right in the future.

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