The Right of Political Participation of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

This article explains the obligations the international legal framework on the rights of indigenous peoples imposes on States regarding the right to political participation, in particular, the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Because of the historical exclusion and marginalization of these groups, mere recognition of the right of participation in domestic legal systems is insufficient to ensure the full enjoyment of the right by indigenous communities. Instead, States are obliged to adopt active measures to overcome the systemic discrimination indigenous peoples have been subject to. This article focuses on one of the many aspects of political participation, i.e., electoral participation. It provides both a typology and a critical account of different mechanisms States use to increase and promote the participation of indigenous peoples in electoral processes, specifically in elections for legislative bodies and in constitution-making processes. These mechanisms include the provision for reserved seats in parliament, the creation of special indigenous electoral districts, and the establishment of special electoral quotas for candidacies presented by political parties. The article argues that the effectiveness of each approach cannot be evaluated in abstracto, but must be assessed against the particular context in which a specific approach is adopted. Most importantly, the success of any specific approach should be measured by the extent to which they allow indigenous communities to have an actual chance at influencing political decision-making, particularly in situations that affect them.