The Rights of Indigenous People; Selected Basic Documents and Background Materials Part One

According to a recent UN report, the indigenous are amongst the poorest groups in the world. They consist of around 370 million people, which is 5 percent of the world population. Of all the poor in the world, 15 percent are indigenous. Indigenous peoples have lower incomes, less access to health care, education, adequate housing and social services, and generally face political and social exclusion. Only 25 years ago, the protection of the human rights of this vulnerable group has become a separate issue on the agenda of the international community. In this series, a complete overview of the various instruments dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples is being presented. The collection is divided into several different volumes, providing wide-ranging insights in the rights of indigenous peoples, thus offering a valuable legal tool for academic collections. A complete overview of the published volumes is available at the publisher’s website. This first volume of the section containing selected basic documents and background materials consists of five parts, in which general documents are being presented. We focus on the various international human rights tools, dealing with indigenous rights, as well as on the ILO Conventions that were the first legal instruments for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. Next to that, the United Nations framework is included, varying from general documents to the collection of reports of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples. Finally, also regional and national core documents dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples are included in this volume.