Report of the National Inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples
41
must be in good faith, in appropriate form, and with the goal of reaching agreement or
consent to proposed measures.80 Article 13(1) requires State parties to respect the ‘special
importance for the cultures and spiritual values of the peoples concerned of their relationship
with the land or territories ... which they occupy or otherwise use, and in particular, the
collective aspects of this relationship.’ Article 14(1) requires States to recognize indigenous
peoples’ ‘rights of ownership and possession’ over their traditional lands and, with respect
to lands not exclusively occupied, to safeguard rights to use and access those lands. In this
regard, ‘[p]articular attention shall be paid to the situation of nomadic peoples and shifting
cultivators’.81 Article 14(2) requires Governments to identify the lands traditionally occupied
by indigenous peoples and to protect rights of ownership and possession.
4.27 Article 15(1) requires safeguards for indigenous peoples’ rights to use, manage, and conserve
natural resources associated with their lands and to participate in decisions affecting use and
management of the resources. Where States retain rights in lands of indigenous peoples (eg
ownership of minerals or rights to resources), before a State can develop or permit others to
develop resources pursuant to those rights, the State must consult with indigenous peoples
to determine the extent that the State’s activity may prejudice indigenous interests.82 Where
possible, indigenous peoples should participate in benefits of such development and be paid
compensation for any damages they sustain as a result of the development.83
4.28 Article 16 addresses the relocation of indigenous peoples from their lands. States may
remove indigenous peoples from their lands only ‘as an exceptional measure’, in which
case the consent of the people concerned is required. If possible, they should be given the
option to return to the lands from which they are removed. If return is impossible, the State
should provide substitute lands of a quality and legal status equal to that from which they
were removed. Compensation should be provided for loss or injury incurred as a result of
relocation. Article 18 requires that there be penalties for trespass or unauthorized use of
indigenous lands and that States take action ‘to prevent such offences.’
Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC)
4.29 Article 30 of the CRC provides for indigenous children to learn and practise their own culture.
In its General Comment No. 11, the Committee on the Rights of the Child discusses the link
between Article 30 of the CRC and Article 27 of ICCPR, i.e. that the right to enjoy culture
is closely associated with the use of traditional territories and its resources. Denial of land
rights for the indigenous peoples will directly affect their right to practise and transmit their
culture, thus denying indigenous children of this experience and subsequently violating
Article 30 of the CRC.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW)
4.30 Article 15 of CEDAW discusses equality before the law and the entitlement of non-discrimination,
including on matters referring to land. Provisions of CEDAW are particularly important bearing
in mind the multiple forms of discrimination that indigenous women face.
80
ILO Convention No. 169, art 6(2).
81
ILO Convention No. 169, art 14(1).
82
ILO Convention No. 169, art 15(1).
83
ILO Convention No. 169, art 15(2).
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