{"title":"Group Identity and Inter-Ethnic Relations in the Western Niger Delta of Nigeria","authors":"Uwomano Benjamin Okpevra","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10144","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In this paper, the author paints the socio-political canvass that coloured the motif of colonial and post-colonial political arrangement that characterised the western Niger Delta of Nigeria. This paper underscores the Isoko minority group’s struggle for identity as a distinct ethnic group from their Urhobo neighbour in post-colonial times. It is the aim of this work to try to bring light on the history of minority group’s struggle for establishing their own identity and political domain within the framework of sub-nationalism in the Nigerian state using the appropriate theoretical frameworks. The study deployed the historical and analytical methods, with primary and secondary sources to achieve its aim. The paper shows that the identity of the Isoko Nationalism was not clearly established, until after 1963 and even as late as the period of the Nigerian Civil War, the separate identity of the Isoko ethnic group was not clearly established in some circles, until crude oil economy brought them to the limelight after the end of the Nigerian civil war. The author deposes that to appreciate ethnic relations across time and space in relation to contemporary political circumstances, from the perspective of both majority and minority status and in relation to different ethnic out-groups. Finally, the paper shows that understanding the patterns of intergroup relations as exemplified by the Isoko and their neighbours in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is a necessary prelude to the appreciation of the phenomena in the trajectory of developments that had serious implications on the evolution and trend of the Isoko as an identifiable distinct ethnic group.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139871031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Group Identity and Inter-Ethnic Relations in the Western Niger Delta of Nigeria","authors":"Uwomano Benjamin Okpevra","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10144","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In this paper, the author paints the socio-political canvass that coloured the motif of colonial and post-colonial political arrangement that characterised the western Niger Delta of Nigeria. This paper underscores the Isoko minority group’s struggle for identity as a distinct ethnic group from their Urhobo neighbour in post-colonial times. It is the aim of this work to try to bring light on the history of minority group’s struggle for establishing their own identity and political domain within the framework of sub-nationalism in the Nigerian state using the appropriate theoretical frameworks. The study deployed the historical and analytical methods, with primary and secondary sources to achieve its aim. The paper shows that the identity of the Isoko Nationalism was not clearly established, until after 1963 and even as late as the period of the Nigerian Civil War, the separate identity of the Isoko ethnic group was not clearly established in some circles, until crude oil economy brought them to the limelight after the end of the Nigerian civil war. The author deposes that to appreciate ethnic relations across time and space in relation to contemporary political circumstances, from the perspective of both majority and minority status and in relation to different ethnic out-groups. Finally, the paper shows that understanding the patterns of intergroup relations as exemplified by the Isoko and their neighbours in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is a necessary prelude to the appreciation of the phenomena in the trajectory of developments that had serious implications on the evolution and trend of the Isoko as an identifiable distinct ethnic group.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139811282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Minority Rights Denials in Ethiopia","authors":"Awol Ali Mohammed","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10146","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article explores the constitutional promises and practices of self-rule in Ethiopia federal system focusing on the Konso ethnic group’s quest for self-rule. Given that the federal project in Ethiopia is a new model (synthesis) that has replaced the failed ‘Nation-State’ building effort since 1991, self-rule has become the ideological heart of the incumbent party and a pillar of the constitution. To this end, the article used a qualitative research approach that relied on both primary and secondary sources of data. Interviews, field observation, focus group discussions, and document analysis were utilised to obtain data. The findings show that, despite the fact that both the fdre and snnprs constitutions promised “unconditional right to every national, nationality, and people to have the right to self-determination up to secession,” the Konso quest for self-rule was rejected, their previous semi-autonomous status was dissolved, and they were relegated to ordinary Woreda. The merger transformed Special Woredas into ordinary Woredas while also shifting nationality self-rule to multi-ethnic self-rule, resulting in a paradigm shift in terms of self-rule practice. The Woredas lack essential identity-related self-government autonomy, such as the capacity to choose the working language and the right to appoint and remove officials as needed. A major source of concern is the decline in capital budgets and the delayed development of infrastructure. As a result, the snnp regional government has breached both its original ideological vows and the framework of the constitution.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140481395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Right to Language in School: Russian Sámi","authors":"Ekaterina Zmyvalova","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10145","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper is about Sámi children’s right to learn their language in school in Russia (henceforth referred to as RtL). First, the core elements of this right are deduced from the international and regional instruments. These elements are legal recognition, non-discrimination, participation, appropriate education, and high-quality education. Then, the Russian legal acts are analysed to identify to what extent these elements are present in the Russian legal acts. The paper demonstrates that the five deduced elements of the RtL are found in the relevant Russian legal acts. However, the contents of some of these elements in the Russian legal acts are different from the contents of the corresponding elements deduced from the international and regional legal instruments. The paper also identifies challenges in the Russian legal acts that hinder the realisation of the RtL.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140482324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Human Right Violation Through State Terrorism in Indonesia","authors":"Justiani Liem, Saurip Kadi, Gregorius Neonbasu","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10149","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Indonesia is essentially pluralistic and multicultural. As a diverse country, Indonesia has the largest number of Muslim adherents in the world. The country commits itself on religious tolerance, democratic transformation, and the promotion of human rights. However, many Indonesians face religious discrimination. Laws, policies, and practices contrary to international human rights continue, and the State has been failing to protect its citizens from religious intolerance and violence. Concentration of power, wealth in the hand of oligarchy has caused state terrorism and capital violence. People’s initiatives to solve their own daily lives can be easily crushed. This paper chooses the case of Gafatar to show how state apparatus executed Three Ministerial Decrees as the legal justification of violence to its citizens, besides The Indonesian Council of Religious Scholars banned the Millah Abraham’s teaching, and until today, The Government has not revised it. Indonesia’s commitment to human dignity and harmony is questioned.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140482355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the Categorical Exclusion of Khasi Women from Inheritance and Property Rights","authors":"Jyoti Singh, Kajori Bhatnagar","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10143","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Customary laws govern inheritance among many tribal communities that fall within the ambit of the fifth and sixth schedules of the Indian Constitution. Under this paper’s scope, we shall look at the Khasi community hailing from the state of Meghalaya which is a matrilineal community. Where the Khasis draw their lineage from their mothers, there is a misnomer that women inherit and own the entire property. In light of the abovementioned background, the paper makes an analytical study of the customary inheritance rights of Khasi women, the nature of resource ownership and attempts to understand the grounds behind the claims of gender preference in the existing matrilineal system practised by the Khasis of Meghalaya. We also look at the intersection of gender and matrilineal system of inheritance in the Khasi community, the dispute between customs and legislations and examine whether there exists a need for codification. The paper also discusses the findings of the survey and focus group discussions including 90 Khasi women from East Khasi Hills and their growing consensus on equal inheritance rights but resistance towards statutory laws to govern their lives.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140482912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"State Power, Vulnerability, And Indigenous Peoples In International Law","authors":"Viola Ronoh","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10147","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Recent trends show that rather that the management of populations through life, States such as Kenya have adopted power that ensures that the populations are better managed through death. This power ensures that life closer to it is of higher value and worth protecting while those farthest from it are left to die. Therefore, this study adopts a socio-legal approach to analyse the vulnerability of indigenous peoples. Using this approach will help explain how dispossession of indigenous peoples from their lands and territories in Kenya results from continued colonialism and neopatrimonialism. The findings show that States’ political and economic power have led to the vulnerability of indigenous peoples by legitimizing death-exposing developments projects using the legal frameworks adopted from colonial powers.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140483249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transmitting Minority Languages: Complementary Reversing Language Shift Strategies, edited by Michael Hornsby and Wilson McLeod","authors":"Ran Yi","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10150","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140485252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Consultations on the System of Indigenous and Afromexican Communal Security and the Right to be Consulted in Mexico","authors":"Alexander Stachurski","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10132","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The right to be consulted is a legal institution that originated in 1989 in the United Nations Convention 169, requiring states to conduct a consultation process of Indigenous peoples and communities on issues potentially impacting them. The Mexican state has subsequently implemented the right to be consulted in its legal system. The consultation processes were often riddled with inconsistencies and the violation of the rights of Indigenous communities and peoples. In this paper I analysed the case study of the consultation process in Guerrero, by researching press articles, engaging in participant observation and conducting interviews. I looked for similarities between the Guerrero consultations and past consultations in Juchitán, Sonora, and Campeche. I identified several violations and manipulations consistent with the history of the right to be consulted. In the last part of the article, I compared the proposed acts and established their potential impact on security in Guerrero.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139387667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development as Structural Violence in Ethiopia","authors":"Binayew Tamrat Getahun","doi":"10.1163/15718115-bja10141","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-bja10141","url":null,"abstract":"Development should not be done in a way that endangers the environment, human life, or non-human life that depends on it. However, in Ethiopia, economic development was carried out with little or no concern for the environment or indigenous and minority groups whose livelihoods directly depended on natural resources. Based on an examination of primary and secondary sources through the lens of structural violence theory, this article argues that Ethiopia’s economic growth was not equitable and happened at the expense of the country’s natural resources. Using the Negede Woyto of Lake Tana as a case study, this paper investigated how economic development projects in Ethiopia impacted minority communities. The conclusion reached was that the eprdf-led government actively worked to inflict structural violence on minority groups in the Lake Tana region, using sustainable economic development as a justification.","PeriodicalId":44103,"journal":{"name":"International Journal on Minority and Group Rights","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139199572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}