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R IG
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Treaty Status as of
Signatories s and Parties p among Asian States 2010 January 19
B Ca Ch Ii Io J nK sK L M N Pa Ph PNG Si Sr Th Ti V
CORE TREATIES ICERD
Entered into force International Convention
1969 January 4
on the Elimination 85 signatories,
p sp p
sp p p
sp p sp p
sp sp p p
p p
p of All Forms of Racial
173 parties Discrimination
ICCPR
Entered into force International Convention
1976 March 23
p sp s
p p
sp p p
sp sp p p
sp p p
p p
p on Civil and Political Rights 72 signatories,
165 parties
ICESCR
Entered into force International Covenant on
1976 January 3
p sp sp p
p sp p
p sp sp p
sp sp p p
p p
p Economic, Social and
69 signatories, Cultural Rights
160 parties OTHER TREATIES
CEDAW
Entered into force Convention on the
1981 September 3
Elimination of All Forms of 98 signatories,
p sp sp sp sp sp p
sp sp sp sp p sp p
p sp p
p sp
Discrimination Against 186 parties
Women
CAT
Entered into force
Convention Against Torture 1987 June 26 and Other Cruel, Inhuman 76 signatories,
p p sp s sp p p p p s p
p p p or Degrading Treatment
146 parties or Punishment
B – Bangladesh, Ca – Cambodia, Ch – China, Ii – India, Io – Indonesia, J – Japan, nK – North Korea, sK – South Korea, L – Laos, M – Mongolia, N – Nepal, Pa – Pakistan, Ph – Philippines, PNG – Papua New Guinea, Si – Singapore, Sr – Sri Lanka, Th – Thailand, Ti – Timor Leste,
V – Vietnam
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CRC
Entered into force Convention on the Rights
1990 September 2 sp p sp p sp sp sp sp p sp sp sp sp sp
p sp p
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of the Child 140 signatories,
193 parties
CMW
Entered into force
International Convention on 2003 July 1 the Protection of the Rights 31 signatories,
s s
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p p
of All Migrant Workers and 42 parties Members of their Families
CPD
Entered into force Convention on the Rights
2008 May 3
sp p sp sp p
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Disabilities 77 parties
CED
Not yet in force International Convention for adopted by the
the Protection of All Persons General Assembly s
sp from Enforced
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81 signatories, 18 parties
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V – Vietnam
RIGHTS AIPP
AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP
23
Self-Determination and Self-Government
Prepared by Raja Devasish Roy Module 1
OBJECTIVES
1. To understand why self-determination is a fundamental right of indigenous peoples; 2. To gain an overview of key issues related to indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination,
autonomy and self-government;
3. To know the provisions in the UNDRIP that address these rights; 4. To assess the extent to which these rights are respected or restricted in our respective coun-
tries;
5. To learn about good examples of how indigenous peoples have asserted these rights; 6. To gain a long-term perspective on how indigenous peoples can fully enjoy these rights, to
identify the challenges in achieving this, and to define the best ways of addressing such chal- lenges.
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION A. Background
B. Definition of terms and scope II. UNDRIP PROVISIONS
A. Core articles B. Related articles
III. REALITIES ON THE GROUND A. General situation
B. Laws and policies C. Challenges in implementation
IV. EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED A. Advocacy and lobbying
B. Action and mobilization C. Actual exercise of the right
V. CHALLENGES A. Needs, capacities, strategies
B. Implementation C. Monitoring
Module-1
RIGHTS AIPP
AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP
24
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background
Throughout the ages, peoples have held on to some mode of community identity, based on common geograph-
ic, historical and other persistent social factors. Each peo- ple recognized and asserted at least its own self-identity
through various cultural, political and other means.
The explicit and comprehensive right of peoples to self- determination, however, is a more recent phenomenon. It
is rooted in the philosophical, political and legal thought that emerged with modern nation-states from the late 18th
century onwards.
Before World War II and the birth of the UN, the right to self-determination was generally applied to nations in
creating their own independent states, and in asserting na- tional sovereignty and territorial integrity.
After World War II, liberation movements and new states arose amidst the breakup of old colonial orders and
the redrawing of national boundaries. As a result, the com- munity of nations and international law recognized an ex-
panded concept of the right to self-determination to include all peoples, regardless of how they might be identified and
classified vis-à-vis pre-existing nation-states. The UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights ICCPR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICESCR all reflected
this expanded concept of the right to self-determination. Article 1 of the UN Charter states that one of the three purposes of the UN is “to develop friendly
relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples…” Article 1 of both the ICCPR and the ICESCR also expressly state: “All peoples have the
right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
The UNDRIP, in almost exactly the same words, upholds the right to self-determination and its non-discriminatory application to all peoples, including indigenous peoples see PP 2, PP 4
and PP 5. The UNDRIP explicitly states that the right to self-determination applies to indig- enous peoples as well nation-states see PP 16, PP 17 and Articles 3 and 4.
B. Deiniion of terms and scope
1. Right to self-determination
Article 3 of the UNDRIP states that self-determination includes the right of an indigenous people to freely determine their political status, and to freely pursue their economic, social and
Distribute metacards to the participants and ask them to
write down their answers to the following questions:
What do you understand by self-determination?
How have indigenous peoples in your country or
territory exercised their right to self-determination in the
past?
What do you think are the main obstacles in indig-
enous peoples’ exercise of this right?
What do you think are the specific rights of indig-
enous peoples related to self- government?
Collect and cluster the writ- ten replies, and synthesize
the ideas of the participants. Then give them an input,
guided by the following.
Suggested Method Module-1
RIGHTS AIPP
AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP
25
cultural development. This is only the non-material dimension of the right to self-determina- tion, which has a material dimension to it – the right of a people to their territory, to the lands it
encompasses and to the resources these hold. The two dimensions are inextricable from each other, especially when it comes to the exercise of self-governance.
2. Right to self-government
The right of a people to freely determine its political status, in theory, includes the right to form an independent state that stands on equal footing with other nation-states, or otherwise,
to define its mode of associating with an existing state wherein it enjoys the same rights as the other constituent peoples of that state.
Thus, the right to self-government directly translates into the right of peoples to govern themselves without external influence. This right covers a wide range of options:
• seceding outright from a state and creating their own state; • joining a federation of states as one constituent and co-equal state;
• constituting an autonomous political unit wherein it exercises a degree of self-rule within a broader nation-state; and
• asserting specific rights as defined by the basic laws and through specific processes of the nation-state.
The UNDRIP provisions on the right to self-determination and self-government are among the most contentious. This was seen during the drafting process of the UNDRIP until the stage
of its final adoption. During implementation, too, this may pose challenges, particularly because the right is easily prone to be interpreted as a threat to the national sovereignty and territorial
integrity of UN member-states.
There is no explicit UNDRIP provision that refers to an indigenous people’s right to create an independent state. Indeed, Article 46 clearly states:
Nothing in this Declaration may be…construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political
unity of sovereign and independent States.
But the underlying concept of the right to self-determination and indigenous peoples’ rights in general may, in certain respects, support the legal and moral bases for a people to create their
own state. Whether this extent of self-determination applies to a given situation depends on historical, political, legal and other contexts.
For indigenous peoples whose occupancy of their homeland territories remains intact, the right to self-government is best exercised on a territorial basis. It can be applied over a formal-
ly-delineated and usually contiguous geographic area: national, federal, intermediate regional, state, provincial or local district, prefecture, municipality, etc., according to the hierarchy of
political divisions adopted by nation-states.
• In some cases, the territorial boundaries of indigenous self-government units within na- tion-states coincide with the boundaries of general administrative units such as regions,
provinces, districts, etc.. Example: the provinces that now constitute the Autonomous Re- gion of Muslim Mindanao ARMM in the Philippines.
Module-1
