Indigenous Populations Achieving Human Rights in the Global South?

The adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has resulted in enthusiasm for the potential it provides and skepticism surrounding the limitations of the Declaration (Anaya 2009, Schulte-Tenckhoff 2012, Watson and Venne 2012, Xanthaki 2010).  While there remains much to be skeptical about, including continued human rights violations, little or no legal standing to demand human rights, and a state-centric model of protection and provision of human rights, unexpected victories are emerging. 

In previous work I have looked at the claims of indigenous groups and responses at the local, global, and international levels (Iyall Smith 2011).  These cases focused on cases in the global north, including Greenland and the Makah tribe in the US.  In this paper I will look particularly at cases in the global south, which may present greater opportunities for success for indigenous peoples than discovered in the global north. Again I will examine indigenous rights within global organizations (focusing on issues emerging from the global south), regional organizations (focusing on regional organizations within the global south including the Inter-American System and the African Commission), and local contexts (cases to be identified, including the Miskito one million acres land claim in Honduras). While the global south is very much a part of the neoliberal political and economic system, some areas have managed to create progressive policies that elevate human rights.  The extent to which these policies are enforced is also important to consider.  Previous examinations of the UNDRIP and the implications for the global south identify strong potentials for the enforcement of rights (Hall and Fenelon 2009 and Rodríguez-Pinero 2011) and also points of conflict (Murray 2011).  With this paper I hope to analyze additional cases to shine more light on indigenous peoples’ potential for living human rights within the global south.