The Right to Freely Dispose of Natural Resources

Abstract

Control, ownership and exploitation of high value natural resources have often led to two types of situations: conflicts and extreme poverty. Very little legal analysis has been undertaken of the elementary issue of ownership and control of natural resources. Legally, control over natural resources is traditionally one of the attributes of State sovereignty, but under human rights law it is also a right of peoples. Despite being a key aspect of the human rights approach to self-determination affirmed in Article 1 of the two International Covenants, the right to freely dispose of natural resources has been largely absent from human rights litigation and advocacy, and has usually escaped any practical implementation. This article examines the potential offered by the affirmation of the right of peoples to freely dispose of their natural resources and calls for its revival by arguing that by being a key human rights of peoples, such a right offers some strong legal tools to ensure that States exercise their sovereignty over natural resources with some form of accountability.