This course will introduce students to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples’ rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to a recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, beginning with who qualifies to be “indigenous peoples”, the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance. The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the role of investment, extractive industries and other business corporations in indigenous reservations/areas, and the place of indigenous peoples’ rights within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course on case studies from around the world. Participants will explore legal and policy debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of ‘free, prior and informed consultation/consent’, self-determination and the right to development, amongst others. It will also analyse the impacts of colonization on cultures and languages of indigenous communities, including the perceived tension between universal gender equality norms and practices of some indigenous communities that may be seen as violative of rights of indigenous women or as perpetuating violence against them.
- Teacher: Mihir Kanade