Between policy and law : the International Labour Organisation and the emergence of the international regime on indigenous peoples (1919-1989)

Abstract

‘Indigenous,' ‘indigenous peoples,' ‘indigenous rights’ are commonly used terms in contemporary international legal discourse, and necessary reference points in any exploration on the rudiments of the international human rights system. Ironically, while reflection on the legal status of indigenous peoples has been present in the law of nations since its inception, it has been only recently that ‘the rights of indigenous peoples* has gained a distinct meaning in international legal terms. Formerly an instrument of the historical subjection of indigenous peoples to colonial rule and their subsequent confinement within a world of nation-states, international law has now become a key means -albeit by essence limited- for their continuous struggle for survival and recognition as distinct cultural and political communities. A ‘humanitarian* concern of the fate of this perpetually downgraded, oppressed peoples, has been recurrent in Western legal thought practically since the beginning of the long history o f colonial expansion overseas, helping to bridge the moral contradictions existing between the idealistic principles and brutish practice o f colonialism -and ultimately contributing to legitimise it. But the ‘indigenous rights* discourse, understood as a sui generis derivation of the international human rights regime, is only a recent construct in modem international law.