International law and land rights in Africa: the shift from states’ territorial possessions to indigenous peoples' ownership rights. (original) (raw)
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Encyclopedia of Global Justice, Deen Chatterjee, ed., 2011
Indigenous rights to land are collective human rights, the recognition and realization of which are inextricably bound up with the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination. These rights are held and exercised collectively by indigenous peoples as peoples in virtue of indigenous persons' basic and universal interests as human beings. As human rights, indigenous rights to land are inalienable and have moral, political, and legal priority over the interests of states. The relationships to land that ground indigenous peoples’ rights are ongoing, and they establish interests in access, use, and disposition of land that are of obvious importance from both a moral point of view and for the smooth functioning of social relations.
On Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples
1991
This paper from 1991 aims at: (a) examining some of the connections between indigenous peoples and land rights and (b) presenting some elements of a framework within which to understand and analyze concrete cases of indigenous peoples' land rights. Land rights is however only one aspect of indigenous cultures, and this limited overview cannot do justice to these often exceedingly complex cultures. The emphasis seems, however, justified since land in a very deep emotional and spiritual sense is viewed as synonymous with the very life of indigenous peoples. The logic of the argument is built up around the following key terms: sustainable development, self-determination, land rights, and organization and action. But first it is necessary to focus on who the indigenous peoples are and what their current situation is.
Indigenous Peoples and Land Rights: International Work
1989
The paper, prepared in 1989, focuses on indigenous peoples, their present situation, and prospects for the future. While emphasizing the cultural heterogeneity of indigenous peoples worldwide, the paper at the same time stresses certain basic similarities, especially as regards their relation with land. It argues that in order for indigenous cultures to regain control of their own future, necessary recognition of their special rights to land as well as acceptance of some form of self-determination is mandatory. The ongoing work on securing these rights by indigenous and non-indigenous NGO's within the United Nations and the International Labour Organization is discussed. It is argued that this work on indigenous human rights must continue, and that increased international concern is necessary in order to secure to indigenous peoples their basic and necessary human rights.
Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Land
Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law Online, 2004
The author would like to thank Ann-Gøril Johansen † (who passed away far too young) and Martin Scheinin for sharing their views on indigenous rights. Hans Petter Graver deserves special thanks for cooperation in our joint study on the Finnmark Bill for the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, and for allowing me to use our report as a basis for this article.
Abstract. Environmental degradation and deprivation of the rights of indigenous peoples are the large issues, which informed the opinion of the international community on the exploration and production activities in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria for decades. It is a requirement of international law through the United Nations human rights system and the international labour standards to protect the environmental rights of peoples inhabiting an area. This paper considers whether those rights can be protected under international law as rights accruing to those communities as ‘indigenous peoples’ or as ‘peoples’ who have possessory rights over the lands they occupy; and more importantly whether the oil producing communities of the Niger delta of Nigeria qualify as indigenous peoples under international law.
Indigenous Communities, Property Rights, and Environmental Management
2022
“Communities in Africa recognize that property is more than just an economic concept. For indigenous communities, their entire life is defined based on property rights. Identify the school of thought that best describes this approach to property rights and discuss how it has been applied to conceptualize and protect community land rights in Africa. Based on your answer demonstrate the importance of property rights to environmental management”. Building on that assignment, Gum & Souza (2022) researched works and updated legislation to discuss land ownership rights in Africa, with an emphasis on Kenya, and the result is the following paper.
Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights: Developing a Sui Generis Approach to Ownership and Restitution
International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 2008
Indigenous peoples experience some of the highest levels of poverty and marginalisation in the world. Land dispossession, forcible relocation and assimilationist programmes contributed to the destruction of indigenous peoples' social and political structures, resulting in physical and spiritual dislocation. Indigenous peoples' contemporary situation is understood by examining their historico-political and legal location, for example, colonial conquests underpinned by dubious legal doctrines, such as terra nullius and utipossidetis which crystallise d European borders at decolonisation. Initially facilitating the expropriation of indigenous peoples' lands, international law has evolved to a point where accommodation of restitution is possible. Considering land as central to indigenous peoples' cultures, the article traces the process of acknowledging indigenous peoples' land rights, from the original state-centric position of denial and non-recognition, to one of gradual acceptance, catalysed by progressions in international and human rights law. The author questions whether this new era of 'partnership' and 'mutual respect' can alleviate the extreme conditions experienced by indigenous peoples worldwide, and, moreover, whether these emerging standards will adequately protect indigenous peoples' autonomy and control over their traditional lands in a time of impinging material and economic interests of states and other non-state entities.