International law and aboriginal peoples

• Author: Gib van Ert
• Pages: 311-322



 International law and

aboriginal peoples

In the past, the intersection of public international law and the Canad-

ian law of ab original r ights has not been very fruit ful. Internationa l

law has had rather little to say on the rights of indigenous peoples.

ere is a near tota l absence of binding instruments specif‌ical ly ad-

dressing them. Perhaps as a result, Canadian aboriginal law has de-

veloped l argely independently f rom international legal requirements,

though inter national scrutiny has sometimes played a role in the de -

velopment of Canadian pol icy. But indigenous peoples continue to

press their case on the world stage. e development of international

legal norms concerning i ndigenous rights may yet come to pass. In the

meantime, internationa l legal issues are entering Can adian aboriginal

law in a new way, through the est ablishment of sub-federal aborig inal

governments in comprehensive claims ag reements between aboriginal

peoples and Canadia n governments.

. International legal provisions on indigenous peoples

e international human rights movement that began after the Second

World War has tended to move from the general to t he specif‌ic. Early

instruments were universal in scope, pur porting to apply to people

whatever their race, gender, or status. L ater treaties have sought to

 For example, Unive rsal Declaratio n of Human Rights  GA R es  A (III),

UN Doc. A/; Inter national Covenant on C ivil and Politica l Rights  []

CanTS no. ; Internat ional Covenant on Economic , Social and Cultu ral Rights

 [] CanTS no. . An except ion is the United Nations Convention R elat-

ing to the Statu s of Refugees  [] CanTS no.  and [] CanTS no. .