Part VI Actors, Ch.42 Indigenous Peoples

This chapter highlights Indigenous peoples and international environmental law. There is a myriad of international instruments and commitments that presently incorporate some recognition of Indigenous peoples. The chapter provides a broad overview of some of these milestones in international environmental law to demonstrate the general tenor of how these instruments are purporting to encompass (or not) Indigenous peoples' aspirations for self-determination in caring for the environment. It first reflects on Indigenous peoples' law. The chapter then considers the development of rights of Indigenous peoples at international law, focusing on the International Labour Organization's (ILO) 1989 Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries and the 2007 United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It concludes that international environmental law is simply at the early stages of recognizing the aspirations of Indigenous peoples.