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Human and Peoples' Rights
Human Rights oo,
Collective Responsibility
right of these populations to participate in the use, management and conservation of
these resources.
114. They alleged that in cases where the State has ownership of mineral or subsoil
resources, or rights to other resources belonging to the lands, governments shall
establish or maintain procedures whereby they consult the peoples concerned, with
a view to ascertaining whether and to what extent their interests would be harmed,
before undertaking or permitting any programmes for the exploitation or exploitation
of such resources belonging to their lands. The peoples concerned should, wherever
possible, share in the benefits of such activities and receive fair compensation for
any harm they may suffer as a result of such activities.
115. They also refer to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, which outlines and defines the individual and collective rights of indigenous
peoples, in particular Article 25, which states that indigenous peoples have the right
to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with the lands that
traditionally belong to them; Article 26, which states that indigenous peoples have the
right to the lands and territories that traditionally belong to them, to use and possess
these lands as they wish, and that States must recognize and protect these lands.
116. The Complainants assert that indigenous property rights have been legally
recognized as communal property rights. In the current international landmark case
on this issue, Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni v Nicaragua, the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights (IACHR) recognized that the Inter-American Convention protected
property rights "in a sense that includes, among others, the rights of members of
indigenous communities in the context of communal property." They also affirm that
the IACH stated that land tenure should be sufficient for indigenous communities
without real title to obtain official recognition of this property.
11 7. They allege that in Endorois against the Respondent State (which dealt with the
situation of an indigenous people forcibly removed to make way for a national reserve
and tourist facilities), the African Commission stated that traditional indigenous tenure
constitutes property that States Parties to the African Charter are obligated under
Article 14 not only to respect, but also to protect affirmatively.
118. They note that the acquisition of indigenous property by the colonial authorities
was the subject of widespread condemnation. The Privy Council
Kingdom recognized that the historical association of indigenous pe
lands should be considered a "continuing right of ownership".
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