Indigenous Rights

Over 25 years in the making, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is described by the UN as setting an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool towards eliminating human rights violations against the planet’s 370 million indigenous people and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalisation.

The concerns and sticking points were consistently over some key provisions of the Declaration, such as indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination and the control over natural resources existing on indigenous peoples’ traditional lands. The four member states that voted against were Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States - though all four have since moved to endorse the Declaration.

These papers discuss and examine relevant intellectual property law, human rights, family law, international treaty law and international economic law.