To The Question of the Right of Indigenous Peoples to Self-Determination and Its Interpretation in International Law

Abstract

It is well known that the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination today, as well as in the past, continues to be one of the most complex and difficult to solve issues for both national and international law as a whole. It certainly arouses great interest in itself and attracts attention from a wide circle of the public, excites the minds, and at the same time engenders the broadest discussions. Those discussions often provoke an aggravation of the already not benevolent relationship between indigenous peoples and government officials in their countries of residence. Along with this, those relationships continue to be defined and considered by most indigenous peoples of the world as the “foundation” on which their rights rest, as well as their survival and preservation as separate and independent peoples. Given this circumstance, the team of authors of this paper made an attempt to consider this controversial issue from a somewhat alternative point of view in relation to traditional concepts of self-determination of peoples, namely, from the standpoint of human rights and development policy. Thus, the authors bring a new interpretation to the discussion and study of this issue, which needs to be specified and defined.