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Rights of Indigenous People in Addressing Climate-Forced Displacement

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Rights of Indigenous People in Addressing Climate-Forced Displacement Rights of Indigenous People in Addressing Climate-Forced Displacement January 15, 2020 Complaint submitted to: Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Victoria Lucia Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples David R. Boyd, Special Rapporteur on the Issue of Human Rights Obligations Relating to the Enjoyment of a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Karima Bennoune, Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights Dainius Puras, Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health Leilani Farha, Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance Léo Heller Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation 1 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 3 THE COMPLAINANT ............................................................................................................................................. 3 THE VICTIMS ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES BAND OF BILOXI-CHITIMACHA-CHOCTAW INDIANS OF LOUISIANA ............................................................ 4 POINTE-AU-CHIEN INDIAN TRIBE ...................................................................................................................................... 5 GRAND CAILLOU/DULAC BAND OF BILOXI-CHITIMACHA-CHOCTAW ........................................................................................ 6 GRAND BAYOU VILLAGE ................................................................................................................................................. 7 NATIVE VILLAGE OF KIVALINA .......................................................................................................................................... 8 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 10 INTERNATIONAL LAW & BEST PRACTICES FOR THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO ADDRESS CLIMATE- FORCED DISPLACEMENT .................................................................................................................................... 12 TRIBAL SELF-DETERMINATION ........................................................................................................................... 13 EXCEPTION TO DOMESTIC REMEDIES EXHAUSTED ............................................................................................. 15 U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND LOUISIANA AND ALASKA STATE AGENCIES ................................................... 16 FACTUAL EVIDENCE ............................................................................................................................................ 18 FACTUAL EVIDENCE: LOUISIANA ........................................................................................................................ 18 LAND LOSS DUE TO RISING SEA LEVEL AND HUMAN-MADE INFRASTRUCTURE ......................................................................... 18 SEA LEVEL RISE ........................................................................................................................................................... 18 ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS CAUSED BY UNCHECKED OIL & GAS EXPLOITATION ........................................................................... 19 DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL OF 2010 ....................................................................................................................... 20 FAILURE TO APPLY LEGAL PROTECTION ............................................................................................................................ 21 MISSISSIPPI RIVER LEVEE SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................... 22 MORGANZA-TO-THE-GULF FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEM .................................................................................................... 22 THE IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS .............................................................................................................................. 24 ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES RESETTLEMENT PLAN ..................................................................................................................... 28 FACTUAL EVIDENCE: ALASKA ............................................................................................................................. 30 LAND LOSS ................................................................................................................................................................ 32 INCREASINGLY SEVERE STORMS ...................................................................................................................................... 32 KIVALINA PLANNED RESETTLEMENT ................................................................................................................................ 33 THE U.S. HAS FAILED TO IMPLEMENT A RELOCATION GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 36 ALLEGATIONS..................................................................................................................................................... 38 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND THE GOVERNMENTS OF LOUISIANA AND ALASKA HAVE FAILED TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO LIFE AND FAILED TO FULFILL ITS DUTY TO PROTECT THESE INDIGENOUS TRIBES FROM HARM ........... 38 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO PROTECT TRIBES’ RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION .............................. 40 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO PROTECT CULTURAL HERITAGE ............................................................ 41 2 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED TO PROTECT THE RIGHT TO SUBSISTENCE AND FOOD SECURITY ................ 43 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND ALASKA AND LOUISIANA STATE GOVERNMENTS HAVE FAILED TO PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE RIGHTS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH AND AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING ...................................................................................................................... 46 THE HUMAN RIGHT TO SAFE DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION ........................................................................................ 46 RIGHT TO THE ENJOYMENT OF THE HIGHEST ATTAINABLE STANDARD OF PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH .................................... 47 RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING ................................................................................................................. 47 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................................... 49 Introduction The Alaska Institute for Justice submits this complaint on behalf of five Tribes faced with climate-forced displacement and experiencing ongoing human rights violations caused by the United States government. The Tribes are located in Louisiana and Alaska. The Louisiana Tribes are Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi- Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians of Louisiana; Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe; Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe; and the Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha Tribe of the Grand Bayou Indian Village. The Alaska Tribe is the Native Village of Kivalina. Despite their geographic differences, the Tribes in Louisiana and Alaska are facing similar human rights violations as a consequence of the US government’s failure to protect, promote and fulfill each Tribe’s right to self-determination to protect Tribal members from climate impacts. The human rights violations cut across several thematic mandates of the UN Special Rapporteurs because climate-forced displacement threatens the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights. These rights include the rights to life, health, housing, water, sanitation, a healthy environment and food, among others. The Complainant The Alaska Institute for Justice is an independent human rights organization based in the United States working to protect the human rights of those displaced because of the climate crisis. The Victims1 Louisiana Four Louisiana Tribes submit this complaint: Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians of Louisiana; Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe; Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha- 1 For Tribal Resolutions, see Appendix A. 3 Choctaw Tribe; and the Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha Tribe of the Grand Bayou Indian Village. The traditional lands of these Tribes are located in the following Parishes in what is now called the southern Louisiana coast: Terrebonne Parish, Lafourche
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