Becoming indigenous or being overcome? Strategic indigenous rights litigation in the Sudan

In the name of development, water management, and economic growth, the government of Sudan has made the construction of hydroelectric dams a national priority. In the case of the Merowe Dam, it is estimated that around 60,000 people have been affected by the government's hydropower programmes, including loss of land, livelihood, and even life. These struggles have led to a number of litigation efforts, using both national and international judicial bodies. From a research perspective, this unfolding struggle provides a unique opportunity to follow both the trajectory and impact of norms. Do international norms travel locally to support the struggle? Do domestic norms, perhaps newly established, drive the struggle on the international stage? This paper studies a particular set of international norms around indigenous rights and their role in the struggle. Although only one local population of the several affected is technically classed as indigenous, other non-indigenous groups are using the indigenous rights framework in seeking justice, contributing to the strategic regional movement to extend these rights and develop African jurisprudence. This paper explores whether this is evidence of groups 'becoming indigenous' in order to access justice or whether this is an example of organisations directing, or perhaps even overpowering, vulnerable communities.