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Human and Peoples' Rights
CollectivH Responsibility
ideally, should protect five principles: non-discrimination, cultural integrity, control over
land and resources, social welfare, and self-government. They believe that selfdetermination would be the essential remedy for indigenous peoples to overcome the
discrimination of the past.
206. The Commission considers that the Complainants' submissions indicate that they
claim internal self-determination, since they do not intend to secede from the
Respondent State, but rather to have their own autonomy to organize their community
and live according to their choices, in line with their ancestral cultural traditions, and
to preserve them for future generations.
207. The Commission notes that the self-determination claimed by the Complainants is
inherent to the existence of indigenous communities, because it is necessary not only
for their organisation as a community, but also for their ability to participate in an
organised way in their relationship with the central government, in particular in
discussions regarding conditions under which the government can intervene in their
land.
208. La Commission notes that the distinctive aspect about these communities is also
the way they are organized and live accordingly. This right of the indigenous
community to self-organization is intrinsically linked to the ancestral territory of the
community where they live. Outside this territory, self-dermination can be irremediably
called into question, because it does not exist without land of its own.
209. In the present case, the Commission notes that the violation of the property rights
of the Maasai of Kedong, by way of deprivation of their ancestral lands which they use
to practice of pastoralism and for the practice of their cultural and religious traditions,
as concluded above, constitutes a consequential violation of the right to selfdetermination provided for in Article 20 of the African Charter, since the exercise of
this right is inherent to the maintenance of land ownership and its use without undue
interference from third parties, including the Respondent State itself, of which they are
an integral part.
On the alleged violation of right to development
210.
The Commission notes that Article 22 of the African Charter provides that
1. All peoples shall have the right to their economic
development with due regard to their freedom and i
enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.
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