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This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007, devotes several of its articles to land rights – especially Articles 25, 26 and 32 – recognizing this as an essential human rights issue for Indigenous Peoples. The UNDRIP preamble recognizes “the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources.” ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and tribal peoples likewise includes a human rights-based approach to land. It notably affirms that, in applying the Convention: “Governments shall respect the special importance for the cultures and spiritual values of the peoples concerned of their relationship with the lands or territories, or both as applicable, which they occupy or otherwise use, and in particular the collective aspects of this relationship.” 2023 commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is essential to highlight the profound significance the UDHR has for Indigenous Peoples’ rights worldwide as it offers a universal legal framework that underscores the fundamental values of equality, non-discrimination and justice. It importantly upholds the universality of human rights and serves as a moral and legal framework for promoting justice, peace and dignity for humanity as a whole. Since the UNDRIP’s adoption in 2007, the UN Treaty Bodies have increasingly made reference to it in their reviews of State party reports. Some Treaty Bodies have further urged States to “comply” with the UNDRIP and integrate it into national legislation. Recently, the UNDRIP has also become a regular reference point in UN Treaty Bodies’ general comments and recommendations. In one of its most recent general comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) identifies a core obligation of States to obtain free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) where Indigenous Peoples’ natural and cultural resources are threatened. The right to FPIC, as spelled out in Article 32 of the UNDRIP, is one of the most fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples, who have the right to give or withhold consent for any project affecting their lands, territories and resources. And their decision must be respected. Despite this core right, powerful actors continue to encroach onto Indigenous Peoples’ territories in all regions of the world without proper, if any, information, consultation or consent, that is in a culturally appropriate manner, in Indigenous Peoples’ own languages and with enough time to seek genuine FPIC. The resulting land grabbing is happening virtually everywhere Indigenous Peoples live and is driven by a number of powerful forces, including governments, businesses and dominant elites, that are pushing projects of all sizes – from small artisanal mining operations to mega development/infrastructure projects – without respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Government of India, for example, is ploughing ahead with its much-criticized 17,000-hectare Great Nicobar Island mega project, which, at the very least, will threaten the survival of two Indigenous tribes. In the first six months of 2023 alone, Myanmar exported over EUR 710 million worth of rare earth minerals to China. Additionally, 80 hydropower dams are scheduled to be built, including one in northern Shan State that will threaten 11 villages as their areas will be flooded and tens of thousands will need to be relocated. In the United States, the Biden administration approved the building of the large onshore oil drilling Willow project on Indigenous lands in northern Alaska, which is projected to produce 600 million barrels of oil over the next 30 years (approx. 200,000 barrels a day). And in Kenya, authorities destroyed dozens of homes in the name of conservation in the Mau Forest Complex, a legally-recognized traditional Indigenous land, making over 700 Ogiek women, children and men homeless. In many countries extractive industries continue their relentless advance onto Indigenous territories in search of resources, and many Indigenous Peoples and organizations find it difficult to resist the enormous pressure from industries such as those of oil and mining. In addition to the ever-increasing pressure, including a seemingly insatiable global demand for hydrocarbon extraction, Indigenous Peoples’ natural resources are increasingly targeted under the green transition paradigm, which has precipitated an industrial and financial boom requiring vast quantities of transition minerals at an unprecedented pace unheard of in the history of industrialization.

The Indigenous World 2024

Resource Key: NCSQ3NL8

Document Type: Report

Creator:

Author:

  • IWGIA

Series Editor:

  • Dwayne Mamo

Creators Name: {mb_resource_zotero_creatorsname}

Place: Copenhagen

Institution: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs

Date: April 2024

Language: en

This year’s edition of The Indigenous World takes a closer look at Indigenous Peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), adopted in 2007, devotes several of its articles to land rights – especially Articles 25, 26 and 32 – recognizing this as an essential human rights issue for Indigenous Peoples. The UNDRIP preamble recognizes “the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, especially their rights to their lands, territories and resources.” ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and tribal peoples likewise includes a human rights-based approach to land. It notably affirms that, in applying the Convention: “Governments shall respect the special importance for the cultures and spiritual values of the peoples concerned of their relationship with the lands or territories, or both as applicable, which they occupy or otherwise use, and in particular the collective aspects of this relationship.” 2023 commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is essential to highlight the profound significance the UDHR has for Indigenous Peoples’ rights worldwide as it offers a universal legal framework that underscores the fundamental values of equality, non-discrimination and justice. It importantly upholds the universality of human rights and serves as a moral and legal framework for promoting justice, peace and dignity for humanity as a whole. Since the UNDRIP’s adoption in 2007, the UN Treaty Bodies have increasingly made reference to it in their reviews of State party reports. Some Treaty Bodies have further urged States to “comply” with the UNDRIP and integrate it into national legislation. Recently, the UNDRIP has also become a regular reference point in UN Treaty Bodies’ general comments and recommendations. In one of its most recent general comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) identifies a core obligation of States to obtain free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) where Indigenous Peoples’ natural and cultural resources are threatened. The right to FPIC, as spelled out in Article 32 of the UNDRIP, is one of the most fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples, who have the right to give or withhold consent for any project affecting their lands, territories and resources. And their decision must be respected. Despite this core right, powerful actors continue to encroach onto Indigenous Peoples’ territories in all regions of the world without proper, if any, information, consultation or consent, that is in a culturally appropriate manner, in Indigenous Peoples’ own languages and with enough time to seek genuine FPIC. The resulting land grabbing is happening virtually everywhere Indigenous Peoples live and is driven by a number of powerful forces, including governments, businesses and dominant elites, that are pushing projects of all sizes – from small artisanal mining operations to mega development/infrastructure projects – without respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Government of India, for example, is ploughing ahead with its much-criticized 17,000-hectare Great Nicobar Island mega project, which, at the very least, will threaten the survival of two Indigenous tribes. In the first six months of 2023 alone, Myanmar exported over EUR 710 million worth of rare earth minerals to China. Additionally, 80 hydropower dams are scheduled to be built, including one in northern Shan State that will threaten 11 villages as their areas will be flooded and tens of thousands will need to be relocated. In the United States, the Biden administration approved the building of the large onshore oil drilling Willow project on Indigenous lands in northern Alaska, which is projected to produce 600 million barrels of oil over the next 30 years (approx. 200,000 barrels a day). And in Kenya, authorities destroyed dozens of homes in the name of conservation in the Mau Forest Complex, a legally-recognized traditional Indigenous land, making over 700 Ogiek women, children and men homeless. In many countries extractive industries continue their relentless advance onto Indigenous territories in search of resources, and many Indigenous Peoples and organizations find it difficult to resist the enormous pressure from industries such as those of oil and mining. In addition to the ever-increasing pressure, including a seemingly insatiable global demand for hydrocarbon extraction, Indigenous Peoples’ natural resources are increasingly targeted under the green transition paradigm, which has precipitated an industrial and financial boom requiring vast quantities of transition minerals at an unprecedented pace unheard of in the history of industrialization.

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