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Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Under international human rights law, indigenous peoples are recognized as peoples vested with the right to self-determination, as affirmed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, by virtue of which they are entitled to determine their own social, cultural and economic development. The rights affirmed under those treaties, which have been widely adopted, take on particular characteristics when interpreted in the light of indigenous peoples' distinct realities, needs, world views and historical contexts and the jus cogens prohibition of racial discrimination. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples offers the clearest articulation and interpretation of those rights as they pertain to indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- This is reflected in the jurisprudence of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies, which instruct States to use the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when implementing their treaty obligations. The treaties have also been interpreted by national and regional courts and commissions in Latin America and Africa in the light of the provisions of the Declaration and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), indicating the universal applicability of those instruments and signalling the emergence of customary international law in the area of indigenous peoples' rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The concept of "indigenous peoples" is not defined under international law. However, its generally accepted characteristics include: self-identification as an indigenous people; the existence of and desire to maintain a special relationship with ancestral territories; distinct social, economic or political systems from mainstream society, which may be reflected in language, culture, beliefs and customary law; and a historically non-dominant position within society. This applies irrespective of State nomenclature.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous peoples' territorial and property rights are sui generis in nature, encompassing the territories and resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired, including the right to own, use, develop and control resources. Those collective rights exist irrespective of State titles and are premised on: their status as self-determining peoples entitled to the lands and resources necessary for their physical and cultural survival; their customary land tenure regimes; and long-term possession of ancestral territories.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Human rights bodies have consequently clarified that economic growth or national development cannot be used as a basis for non-consensual infringements on the territorial and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. This is reinforced by the erga omnes nature of the right of all peoples to self-determination, the prohibition of racial discrimination and the fact that their protection is a matter of public interest.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Typically, the host States involved employ economic development policies aimed at the exploitation of energy, mineral, land or other resources that are predominantly located in the territories of indigenous peoples. The government agencies responsible for implementing those policies regard such lands and resources as available for unhindered exploitation and actively promote them as such abroad to generate capital inflows. Recognition of indigenous peoples' rights in the domestic legal framework is either non-existent, inadequate or not enforced. Where they exist, institutions mandated to uphold indigenous peoples' rights are politically weak, unaccountable or underfunded. Indigenous peoples lack access to remedies in home and host States and are forced to mobilize, leading to criminalization, violence and deaths. They experience profound human rights violations as a result of impacts on their lands, livelihoods, cultures, development options and governance structures, which, in some cases, threaten their very cultural and physical survival. Projects are stalled and there is a trend towards investor-State dispute settlements related to fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security and expropriation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Despite significant developments in the recognition of indigenous peoples' rights and safeguards under international human rights law, investment in those sectors is generating "increasing and ever more widespread effects on indigenous peoples' lives" as the legal vacuum arising from the lack of recognition or enforcement of their land rights facilitates arbitrary land expropriation, enabling national and local officials to make those lands available for investment projects. At the same time, the vast majority of those lands are protected under international investment agreements, and related investor-State dispute settlement disputes in agribusiness and extractive sectors are expected in Africa and Asia, while in Latin America there is a growing number of claims concerning settlements in relation to such activities in or near indigenous territories.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law recognizes that in certain contexts restrictions can be placed on indigenous peoples' property rights. However, to be legitimate, such restrictions must be: (a) established by law; (b) necessary; (c) proportional to their purpose; and (d) non-restrictive to the peoples' survival. It affirms that, in the context of indigenous peoples' property rights, these conditions imply that good-faith consultations must be held to obtain free, prior and informed consent before any measures affecting those property rights can be considered legitimate.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Inadequate respect and protections for indigenous peoples' land and free, prior and informed consent rights when granting rights to investors over their territories are the root causes for subsequent and broader violations of indigenous peoples' rights. In such contexts, international investment agreements that fail to recognize international human rights law obligations contribute to the subordination of indigenous peoples' rights to investor protections, as those protections become an obstacle to future recognition of indigenous peoples' pre-existing rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In order to address the perverse situation that arises when indigenous peoples are prevented from realizing their land and resource rights owing to protections afforded to investors, a former Special Rapporteur has stressed: That resolving [indigenous peoples'] land rights issues should at all times take priority over commercial development. There needs to be recognition not only in law but also in practice of the prior right of traditional communities. The idea of prior right being granted to a mining or other business company rather than to a community that has held and cared for the land over generations must be stopped, as it brings the whole system of protection of human rights of indigenous peoples into disrepute.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- In Von Pezold and Border Timbers v. Zimbabwe (2015), the company claimed expropriation under the bilateral investment treaties between Germany and Zimbabwe and between Switzerland and Zimbabwe in the context of the State's taking of land. Four indigenous communities, whose traditional lands were the subject of proceedings, submitted an amicus submission claiming that the State and the company had human rights obligations towards them. In its preliminary order of June 2012, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal acknowledged their claims to the lands and that its determinations may well have an impact on the interests of the indigenous communities. However, the tribunal rejected their amicus submission on the grounds that: (a) the communities and their chiefs lacked "independence", as they were associated with people affiliated to the Government, and therefore the claimants may be unfairly prejudiced by their participation; (b) it was not in a position to decide if they were indigenous or not and lacked the competence to interpret indigenous peoples' rights; (c) it was not persuaded that consideration of international human rights law obligations, including, article 26 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was part of its mandate, and rules of general international law did not necessarily extend to international human rights law; and (d) neither the State nor the company had raised indigenous rights issues. It concluded that the putative rights of the indigenous communities as "indigenous peoples" under international human rights law was a matter outside of the scope of the dispute.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- The Plurinational State of Bolivia responded that: (a) it had acted in the public interest and had been justified in reverting ownership to the State in accordance with the principles of proportionality and necessity, to avoid security concerns arising out of indigenous peoples' opposition to the project and to restore public order; (b) it was enforcing domestic legislation that should have tempered the company's legitimate expectations, as the State made no commitment to stability; (c) the project violates rights recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; (d) the company had attempted to fabricate consent in total disregard for the right to self-government of the concerned indigenous peoples; (e) the bilateral investment treaty had no applicable law clause, so there should be "systemic interpretation" in accordance with article 31 (3) (c) of the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties, including human rights obligations towards indigenous peoples under national and international law, as this would be consistent with the evolving nature of standards around fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security, arbitrariness and expropriation; and (f) customary international law recognizes the primacy of human rights over investor protections, citing the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Sawhoyamaxa v. Paraguay and Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In response, the company contends that: (a) the State failed to show how the systemic interpretation would result in having to degrade the protections granted to the company under the treaty to uphold the putative rights of indigenous communities under international law; (b) the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, OECD Guidelines and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are non-binding instruments, while the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are not binding on the United Kingdom, and consequently they are not rules of international law applicable to relations between the parties; (d) the State failed to demonstrate that protection of indigenous peoples' rights had advanced to the level of "erga omnes obligations" or why human rights trump investor protections.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The company invoked the view of Canada in Grand River Enterprise Six Nations, Ltd. v. the United States (see para. 48) that the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples do not form part of customary international law, and the decisions of previous tribunals in Glamis Gold v. United States (see para. 47) not to rule on the applicability of indigenous rights and in Von Pezold and Border Timbers v. Zimbabwe (see para. 46) that indigenous rights do not fall under the scope of bilateral investment treaties. The company holds that an exception maintaining preference for indigenous peoples' rights over investor protections would be necessary to "degrade" investor protections and points to the standard Maori exception employed in the bilateral investment treaties of New Zealand as evidence of this.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The decision in that case is regarded as forward-looking in terms of ensuring respect for the protection of indigenous peoples' sacred spaces and demonstrating that awards can be sensitive to and inclusive of indigenous peoples' issues. The tribunal's decision that a 50 per cent reduction in the projected earnings, arising from a measure aimed at protecting indigenous peoples' sacred places, did not constitute indirect expropriation and that the measures did not constitute a "manifestly arbitrary" denial of justice, supports this view.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights decision in Sawhoyamaxa indigenous community v. Paraguay is illustrative of this. The State argued that it could not implement land restitution programmes aimed at guaranteeing indigenous peoples' rights because of protections afforded to investors under its bilateral investment treaty with Germany. The Court ruled that the treaty had to be interpreted in the light of the State's human rights obligations and that the taking of land for restitution to indigenous people could be justified as a "public purpose or interest". While it is one of the few cases that has attempted to reconcile obligations under international investment law and international human rights law, it offers no guidance on the extent to which the investor should be compensated or what considerations should determine when compensation is or is not required. This points to the need for further guidance from human rights bodies on these matters.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The notion that indigenous peoples must demonstrate "independence" from the State in relation to matters pertaining to their rights is inconsistent with the State's role as the duty-bearer in relation to those rights. Equally alarming, and contrary to international human rights law, is the tribunal's dismissal of the fundamental role of self-identification in the determination of what constitutes an indigenous people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- One of the issues that indigenous peoples have highlighted in relation to the Partnership is its impact on their control over their traditional knowledge, as the rights of corporations that hold intellectual property rights are strengthened in the relevant chapter of the Partnership, while traditional knowledge rights that fall outside of the intellectual property regime are afforded no protection. Experience to date demonstrates that, in the absence of adequate safeguards, traditional knowledge can be commercialized. Similar concerns exist in relation to genetic resources and biodiversity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 96d
- Paragraph text
- Investment dispute settlement bodies addressing cases having an impact on indigenous peoples' rights should promote the convergence of human rights and international investment agreements by: (d) Ensuring that applicable law includes all international human rights law treaties ratified by either State party, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as an interpretative guide for their application to indigenous peoples;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 103a
- Paragraph text
- Host States must comply with their duty to regulate in relation to indigenous peoples' rights to: (a) Lands, territories and resources, necessitating demarcation based on customary land tenure, possession and use;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The impact that conservation initiatives have on indigenous peoples has been a constant and recurring theme since the establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples in 2001. The consequences indigenous peoples have faced in the wake of evermore expanding protected areas have been raised by respective special rapporteurs during numerous country visits and communications to governments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The three Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples have, since the creation of the mandate, paid particular attention to the human rights violations that conservation measures have caused indigenous peoples worldwide, notably by the expropriation of land, forced displacement, denial of self-governance, lack of access to livelihoods and loss of culture and spiritual sites, non-recognition of their own authorities and denial of access to justice and reparation, including restitution and compensation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The focus of the present report on terrestrial protected areas and, to a limited extent, on World Heritage sites, is not intended to diminish the onus on the key factors causing displacement of indigenous peoples from their lands and the overall violations of their rights to lands and territories by extractive industries, agribusiness expansion and mega infrastructure development. Previous special rapporteurs have written thematic reports on extractive industries and violations of the right to development of indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- While the conservation community is in the process of adopting conservation measures that respect the human rights of indigenous peoples, considerable implementation gaps remain and new threats to human rights-based conservation are emerging. The Special Rapporteur has therefore decided that it is a timely and important moment to explore this topic in further depth. The present report charts legal developments and commitments and measures taken made to advance a human rights-based paradigm in conservation, while also identifying certain key remaining challenges. The report concludes with recommendations on how conservation, in policy and practice, can be developed in a manner which respects indigenous peoples' rights and enhances sustainable conservation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- A protected area is a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives. Protected areas consist of many different conservation modalities, among them national parks and forests, wildlife refuges, marine areas, private and non-governmental organization (NGO)-governed preserves, indigenous peoples' protected areas, community lands and other areas where the protection of nature and the practice of sustainable livelihoods foster ecosystem integrity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Protected areas have the potential of safeguarding biodiversity for the benefit of all humanity; however, these have also been associated with human rights violations against indigenous peoples in many parts of the world. For over a century, conservation was carried out with the aim of vacating protected areas of all human presence, leading to cultural destruction and large-scale displacements of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands in the name of conservation. Past conservation measures caused complex and multiple violations of the collective and individual human rights of indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The expanse of protected areas nearly doubled over a period two decades, from 8.7 million square kilometres in 1980 to 16.1 million square kilometres in 2000. There is significant spatial overlap between the traditional lands of indigenous peoples and areas which retain the highest levels of high-biodiversity. Traditional indigenous territories encompass around 22 per cent of the world's land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 per cent of the planet's biodiversity. It has been estimated that 50 per cent of protected areas worldwide has been established on lands traditionally occupied and used by indigenous peoples and that this proportion is highest in the Americas, where it may exceed 90 per cent in Central America. Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, as well as Canada and the United States of America, all have a high percentage of protected areas on indigenous traditional territory. Overlap is also significant in Australia and New Zealand. Most of the protected areas in India, Nepal and the Philippines include the territories of indigenous peoples. Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and the United Republic of Tanzania are among the African countries in which large parts of the protected areas are located on indigenous peoples' ancestral domains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous peoples retain strong spiritual links with the plants, trees and animals on their lands and protecting their lands is a sacred duty. Yet, indigenous peoples may not refer to themselves as conservationists and this has resulted in a considerable lack of acknowledgement within the conservation community of indigenous peoples' contribution to conservation. There is increasing recognition that the ancestral lands of indigenous peoples contain the most intact ecosystems and provide the most effective and sustainable form of conservation. Studies have demonstrated that the territories of indigenous peoples who have been given land rights have been significantly better conserved than the adjacent lands. Yet, to date, the important role played by indigenous peoples as environmental guardians has still failed to gain due recognition. According to the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in 2014, less than 5 per cent of protected areas worldwide were governed by indigenous peoples and local communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Conservation efforts traditionally were state-centric and based on expropriation of lands subsequently placed under government control. Indigenous peoples were displaced, denied self-governance, deprived of access to natural resources for their livelihood and their traditional and spiritual links to ancestral land were disrupted. Marginalized and impoverished indigenous peoples have continued to struggle for access to their territories and tenure rights, resulting in enduring friction and conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- From the conservation perspective, the loss of the guardianship of indigenous peoples and the placing of their lands under the control of government authorities who have often lacked the capacity and political will to protect the land effectively, has left such areas exposed to destructive settlement, extractive industries, illegal logging, agribusiness expansion and large-scale infrastructure development. Even where national policies and laws require strict protection for protected areas, in many countries State agencies have still authorized mining, oil and gas extraction, logging, dams and reservoirs, highways and other projects in direct conflict with conservation goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph