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Portrait of Britta Sjöstedt. Photo.

Britta Sjöstedt

Senior lecturer

Portrait of Britta Sjöstedt. Photo.

Environmental Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Post-Conflict

Author

  • Britta Sjöstedt

Summary, in English

The paper examines the legal framework protecting the rights of indigenous peoples in post-conflict and whether the latest session of the International Law Commission (2016) has contributed to progressively expand this framework. The Special Rapporteur for the topic Protection of the Environment in relation to Armed Conflict suggested in her third report that the Commission should adopt a draft principle, based on the clear connection between indigenous peoples and the environment. The draft principle stresses the rights of indigenous peoples regarding lands, territories and natural resources, and the obligation of states to consult with indigenous peoples for restoring the environment after an armed conflict. The draft principle is important as indigenous peoples are often caught in hostilities and risking to lose access to their lands being a marginalised group throughout the peace building process. In fact, indigenous peoples have suffered an increase in violence linked to armed conflict during the past 10 years. For instance, at least 27 indigenous groups are at risk of disappearing as a result of armed conflict, according to Colombia’s Constitutional Court. In this paper, I intend to exemplify the application of the new draft principle by looking at two states transitioning from conflict to peace, namely, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hostilities in both states have taken place in indigenous territory and adversely affected the indigenous peoples. At the same time, the indigenous peoples have been marginalised throughout the peace processes. Thus, the paper elaborates on the potential added value of the adoption of the draft principle and how it sits with existing international law on this issue.

Department/s

  • Department of Law
  • Environmental Law
  • Public International Law

Publishing year

2016

Language

English

Document type

Conference - other

Topic

  • Law

Keywords

  • Public international law
  • environmental law
  • Folkrätt
  • miljörätt

Conference name

Jus Post Bellum and the Justice of Peace

Conference date

2016-09-29 - 2016-09-30

Conference place

The Hague, Netherlands

Status

Unpublished

Research group

  • Environmental Law
  • Public International Law