Human Rights Education Associates

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

3 June-14 July 2015 (E06915) | Closed
3 June-14 July 2015-E-Learning + 3-10 August 2015-Costa Rica (E06915-Blended) | Closed

This certificate course jointly organised by HREA and the Human Rights Centre of the UN-mandated University for Peace introduces participants to the increasingly significant field of indigenous peoples’ rights and looks at the contemporary issues that have paradoxically led to a recognition of those rights on the one hand, while simultaneously challenging their implementation on the other. The course will address the broad spectrum of issues involved in the field of indigenous peoples’ rights, beginning with who qualifies to be “indigenous peoples”, the scope of their right to self-determination, the international and regional legal frameworks for the protection of their rights and the challenges associated therewith, and the debates surrounding the concept of indigenous governance.

The course will also look closely into human security and human development issues relating to indigenous peoples, the role of extraction and other business corporations in indigenous reservations/areas, and the effect of intellectual property rights on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Strong emphasis will be placed throughout the course not only on theory and law, but also on case studies from around the world. Participants will explore debates on mainstreaming versus autonomy, participatory governance, scope of ‘free and prior consent’ and the human right to development, amongst others.