Indigenous peoples, UNDRIP and land conflict: an African perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe 2007 adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) represented a watershed moment for Indigenous rights. Though wide-ranging in scope, a core element of UNDRIP is the recognition of rights to land; specifically, the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) embedded in the Declaration. Given the widespread scale of insecurity and conflicts over land facing Indigenous peoples, FPIC represents a critical yet controversial development. This paper explores the links between UNDRIP/FPIC and land conflict in a unique context – sub-Saharan Africa. Notwithstanding the dismissive position of numerous African governments that ‘we are all Indigenous’, divisive debates around the politics of indigeneity are on the rise. Such debates regularly invoke the exclusionary concept of autochthony and centre on competing claims to rights to land. The paper thus considers the following questions: How have African governments responded to UNDRIP? What are the politics around applying the concept of Indigenous rights in the African context? Finally, could the right to FPIC provide a framework for preventing or possibly fuelling conflicts over land? By surveying key developments across the continent, the paper provides an African perspective on the promise and perils of UNDRIP.