Title

Indigenous Peoples and International relations at the End of Empire

Presenter

Makere Stewart-Harawira

Abstract

The right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination is a normative right that is embedded in International law. Article 21 (1) of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is unequivocal in stating that,

Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia, in the areas of education, employment, vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation, health and social security.

In my presentation for this panel I will take a close look at the notion of ‘rights for and of Indigenous peoples in two contexts; firstly, the re-forging of relationships between Indigenous Peoples and nation-states in the 21st century, and secondly, the opposing scenarios of the deep integration and the dissolution of Empire.