The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Author: Jessie Hohmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 731
Release: 2018-03-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191653993

The rights of indigenous peoples under international law have seen significant change in recent years, as various international bodies have attempted to address the question of how best to protect and enforce their rights. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the strongest statement thus far by the international community on this issue. The Declaration was adopted by the United Nations on 13 September 2007, and sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues. While it is not a legally binding instrument under international law, it represents the development of international legal norms designed to eliminate human rights violations against indigenous peoples, and to help them in combating discrimination and marginalisation. This comprehensive commentary on the Declaration analyses in detail both the substantive content of the Declaration and the position of the Declaration within existing international law. It considers the background to the text of every Article of the Declaration, including the travaux préparatoire, the relevant drafting history, and the context in which the provision came to be included in the Declaration. It sets out each provision's content, interpretation, its relationship with other principles of international law, and its legal status. It also discusses the significance and outlook for each of the rights analysed. The book assesses the practice of relevant regional and international bodies in enforcing the rights of indigenous peoples, providing an understanding of the practical application of the Declaration's principles. It is an indispensible resource for scholars, students, international organisations, and NGOs working on the rights of indigenous peoples

Minorities, Peoples and Self-Determination

Minorities, Peoples and Self-Determination
Author: Nazila Ghanea-Hercock
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2005-05-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9047407113

The present volume, in honour of Professor Patrick Thornberry, presents new thinking on minority and indigenous rights in international law. Contributors to this 17 chapter volume include an impressive range of academics, thinkers, practitioners and international civil servants with a number of different approaches to this complex area. Not all of them take a legal approach, and this exploration benefits from the variety of frameworks utilised in contributing to the controversial area of minority and indigenous rights. Debates that receive attention in this volume include self-determination, definitional issues, collective rights and rights to natural resources. Other chapters unravel challenges that have not attracted sufficient attention to date, such as multiculturalism, integration, colour as a ground for discrimination and the economic and social rights of minorities. The volume also looks critically at the work of the World Bank, the African Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE in this arena. Finally, case studies highlight the regrettable similarities in the suffering of groups in different parts of the world as well as the stark contrast between state claims and their actual practice. The contributors are: Gudmundur Alfredsson, Michael Banton, Joshua Castellino, Erica‐lrene A. Daes, María-Amor Estébanez, Nazila Ghanea, Geoff Gilbert, Bülent Gökay, Tom Hadden, Dominic McGoldrick, Timothy Murithi, John Packer, Chandra K. Roy, Malcolm N. Shaw, Martin Scheinin, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, and Alexandra Xanthaki.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Author: Ben Saul
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1358
Release: 2014-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199640300

"One purpose of this book is to respond to this shift: to look beyond the more abstract and ideological discussions of the nature of socio-economic rights in order to engage empirically with how such rights have manifested in international practice". -- INTRODUCTION.

Internal Self-Determination in International Law

Internal Self-Determination in International Law
Author: Kalana Senaratne
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2021-08-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108625681

Internal self-determination is an under-explored topic in international law. It is popularly understood to be a principle of relatively recent origin, promoting democratic freedoms to populations and autonomy for minority groups within states. It has also been viewed as a principle receiving the support of Western states, in particular. In this first book-length critical study of the topic, the reader is invited to rethink the history, theory and practice of internal self-determination in a complex world. Kalana Senaratne shows that it is a principle of great, but varied, potential. Internal self-determination promises democratic freedoms and autonomy to peoples; but it also represents an idea which is not historically new, and is ultimately a principle which can be promoted for different and conflicting purposes. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be of interest to international lawyers, state-officials, minority groups, and students of law and politics.

Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards

Indigenous Rights and United Nations Standards
Author: Alexandra Xanthaki
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2007-05-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1139461737

The debate on indigenous rights has revealed some serious difficulties for current international law, posed mainly by different understandings of important concepts. This book explores the extent to which indigenous claims, as recorded in the United Nations forums, can be accommodated by international law. By doing so, it also highlights how the indigenous debate has stretched the contours and ultimately evolved international human rights standards. The book first reflects on the international law responses to the theoretical arguments on cultural membership. After a comprehensive analysis of the existing instruments on indigenous rights, the discussion turns to self-determination. Different views are assessed and a fresh perspective on the right to self-determination is outlined. Ultimately, the author refuses to shy away from difficult questions and challenging issues and offers a comprehensive discussion of indigenous rights and their contribution to international law.

Making the Declaration Work

Making the Declaration Work
Author: Claire Charters
Publisher: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2009
Genre: Law
ISBN:

"The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a culmination of a centuries-long struggle by indigenous peoples for justice. It is an important new addition to UN human rights instruments in that it promotes equality for the world's indigenous peoples and recognizes their collective rights."--Back cover.

Indigenous Peoples in International Law

Indigenous Peoples in International Law
Author: S. James Anaya
Publisher:
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2004
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780195173505

In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of the first book-length treatment of the subject, S. James Anaya incorporates references to all the latest treaties and recent developments in the international law of indigenous peoples. Anaya demonstrates that, while historical trends in international law largely facilitated colonization of indigenous peoples and their lands, modern international law's human rights program has been modestly responsive to indigenous peoples' aspirations to survive as distinct communities in control of their own destinies. This book provides a theoretically grounded and practically oriented synthesis of the historical, contemporary and emerging international law related to indigenous peoples. It will be of great interest to scholars and lawyers in international law and human rights, as well as to those interested in the dynamics of indigenous and ethnic identity.

Statehood and the Law of Self-Determination

Statehood and the Law of Self-Determination
Author: David Raic
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 515
Release: 2002-09-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 904740338X

Although most international lawyers assumed that the distribution of the land surface of the earth between States was more or less final after the end of decolonization, recent practice has disproved this assumption. Eritrea separated from Ethiopia and new States were created out of the former Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. There is no reason to believe that these events form the end of the creation of new States. Numerous communities within existing States claim a right to full separate statehood on the basis of their entitlement to an alleged right to self-determination. However, in most cases, the international community rejected such claims to statehood, even if the territorial entity satisfied the traditional criteria for statehood. On the other hand, in other cases, including some of those mentioned above, the international community acknowledged the statehood of entities which clearly failed to meet these criteria. In the light of the above-mentioned developments, this book examines the modern law of statehood, and in particular the role of the law of self-determination in the process of the formation of States in international law. The study shows that the law of statehood has changed considerably since the establishment of the United Nations. It is argued that the law of self-determination is particularly relevant for explaining the international community's position regarding the general recognition, or the general denial, of statehood of different territorial entities under contemporary international law.

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016
Author: Peter Grant
Publisher: Minority Rights Group
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2016-07-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1907919805

The unique cultures of minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide – spanning a wide variety of customs and practices – are under threat. This year’s edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights the impact of land dispossession, forced assimilation and other forms of discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of their identity, including language, art, traditional knowledge and spirituality. But while the effects of this attrition can be devastating, minority and indigenous cultures have also been critical in strengthening communities and providing activists with a platform to fight for their rights. As this volume illustrates, ensuring that the cultural freedoms of minorities and indigenous peoples are protected is essential if their other rights are also to be respected.