The Emerging International Law on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: A Look at the Ethiopian Perspective
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Date
2010-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In the last three decades, indigenous peoples worldwide have been successful in bringing about
legal changes in favor of their human rights and specific situation. However, there are still
controversies regarding the definition of the subjects to whom these legal changes have been
brought in favor of. Despite definitional impasse, the rights and interests of indigenous peoples
are evolving through international law making processes. Through ILO Convention No. 169 and
UN Declaration, international human rights law provides important standards on the rights of
indigenous peoples. It is clear from the current assessment of the thesis that there is a growing
international consensus on the need for indigenous peoples to participate in the formulation and
implementation of development projects that may affect them. Despite the non recognition of
indigenous peoples as defined under international law, in Ethiopian legislation, significant
opportunities do exist for the protection of these peoples within existing legal frameworks in the
country. These Constitutional, statutory provisions, and international instruments ratified by
Ethiopia, discussed above, are of particular importance to indigenous peoples. The Constitution,
for instance, requires consultation of communities over development activities affecting them.
However, the level of legal and policy protection is obviously inferior compared to international
and regional standards. The Ethiopian government should ratify ILO Convention No.169 and
adopt a new law dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples explicitly recognizing their
collective right to land. It should require identification of existing indigenous peoples based on
international and African standards and establish independent monitoring institutions. In this
regard, the term ‘indigenous peoples’ needs to be understood outside the confines of
aboriginality. Such recognition and identification will pave the way for the protection of
indigenous peoples. The Constitution should recognize the collective composition of indigenous
peoples and their consultation as a group. The process of determining public interest, the role of
affected communities in such processes and the extent to which their interests weigh should be
settled. Measures should also be taken to encourage the participation of indigenous peoples in
formal decision making organs. To ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples are properly
enforced, standing rules should be relaxed to authorize public interest litigation in human rights
matters.
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In the last three decades, indigenous peoples worldwide