ETHNOCIDE AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: ARTICLE 8 OF THE DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Article 8 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides that Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to be free from forced assimilation and destruction of culture. In addition, this provision requires that states provide effective mechanisms for prevention and redress of actions that: deprive Indigenous peoples of their integrity as distinct peoples; dispossess Indigenous peoples of land; force population transfers, assimilation or integration; or promote or incite discrimination. This article aims to develop a greater understanding of this novel provision. It investigates the historical development of art 8 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, together with the concept and jurisprudence of cultural genocide expressed in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in an effort to determine the scope and content of the right, whether or not it is legally binding and its enforcement. Article 8 should ensure Indigenous peoples are able to use their own languages and protect their historical, cultural and religious heritage and objects in libraries, museums, schools, historical monuments, places of worship or other cultural institutions. In essence, this article protects the right of Indigenous peoples and individuals to live in an environment where they can enjoy their own cultures and where those cultures are able to develop and flourish.