RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES TO LAND AND PROPERTY UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS REGIMES: A CASE STUDY OF INDONESIA

Back to Page Authors: Chairul Fahmi

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Keywords: indigenous, rights, land, property, Indonesia, human rights

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Abstract: The rights of indigenous peoples to their traditionally owned lands, territories, and resources have been controversial in international law discourse. Since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, the discourse on indigenous rights remains unsolved. In the Indonesian context, this declaratory is believed as a ‘soft-law’ international instrument, and it is not an obligation for the State to adopt its provision into the national regulations. The government also has a different perspective on either the identity or the status of indigenous peoples. They claim all Indonesians are indigenous. As a result, the government reluctant to adopt and implement this norm within its domestic policies. By having a lack of legal enforcement of the UNDRIP in the Indonesian context, several indigenous rights have been expropriated by the State, especially rights to land, territories, and the environment. In doing so, implementing human rights instruments, international customary law, and other international principles might be an alternative to impose the State to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples within the country. This essay attempts to examine the effectiveness of international human rights instruments as the legal basis to enforce the Signatory State to protect the rights of indigenous peoples within the special reference of Indonesia.

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