Indigenous peoples and self-determination A legal analysis of international documents with special regard to Canadian legislation Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades einer Magistra der Rechtswissenschaften an der Rechtswissenschaftlichen Fakultät eingereicht von Christina Eixelsberger bei Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benedek Institut für Völkerrecht und internationale Beziehungen 2012 Eidesstattliche Erklärung Ich erkläre an Eides statt, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbstständig verfasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen/Hilfsmittel nicht benutzt, und die den benutzten Quellen wörtlich und inhaltlich entnommene Stellen als solche kenntlich gemacht habe. Graz, am ……………… …………………………………. (Unterschrift) Statutory declaration I declare that I have authored this thesis independently, that I have not used other than the declared sources / resources, and that I have explicitly marked all material which has been quoted either literally or by content from the used sources. ……………………… ………………………………….. date (signature) II Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to thank Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benedek for the supervi- sion of my work as well as Dr. Doris Farget from the University of Montréal for her advice concerning available material and for drawing my attention to the situation of Nunavut. Moreover I owe my gratitude to Mag. Agnes Paier and Zura Simonishvili, who were so kind as to proof-read my work, for their critical comments and for their willingness to deal with this subject. The same holds true for Nina Lucy Smith, whose help with all linguistic ques- tions I highly appreciate. Special thanks are due to my family for their support and patience during the whole time of my studies and for enabling me to go to Canada. To them I am truly grateful for helping me whenever they could. III Table of contents List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................ VIII Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 I. Remarks on indigenous peoples .......................................................................................... 4 A. Concepts and their delineations: Peoples v. indigenous peoples v. minorities ................. 4 1. Peoples ............................................................................................................................ 4 2. Indigenous peoples .......................................................................................................... 6 3. Minorities ........................................................................................................................ 8 4. Comparison of the concepts .......................................................................................... 10 B. The evolution of Canadian aboriginal peoples’ status from a legal perspective ............. 10 1. Historical introduction: colonialism, sovereignty and the Royal Proclamation ........... 10 2. The status of indigenous peoples as lay down by the law ............................................ 11 3. Bilateral agreements with indigenous peoples: the numbered treaties signed with the Kingdom ........................................................................................................................... 13 4. Ancestral rights and the aboriginal title: realization of self-determination over a territory ............................................................................................................................. 15 a. Constitutional protection ........................................................................................... 15 b. Recognition in common law ..................................................................................... 16 II. The right to self-determination ........................................................................................ 18 A. Historical background ...................................................................................................... 18 B. The character of the right to self-determination .............................................................. 19 1. Internal and external self-determination ....................................................................... 19 2. Substantive and remedial aspects of self-determination ............................................... 20 3. The minimalist and maximalist approach to self-determination ................................... 21 4. Elements of self-determination ..................................................................................... 22 a. Cultural identity ......................................................................................................... 22 b. Control of natural resources ...................................................................................... 22 IV c. Self-government or autonomy ................................................................................... 23 d. Nondiscrimination ..................................................................................................... 24 e. The idea of a third order of government .................................................................... 24 C. Secession as the result of the exercise of the right to self-determination? ...................... 25 1. The case of the secession of Quebec before the SCC ................................................... 25 2. The ICJ’s advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence ........................ 28 D. Defining “peoples“ in international law: a year-long struggle ........................................ 30 III. The right to self-determination of indigenous peoples in international and regional law ............................................................................................................................................ 34 A. Indigenous peoples as subjects of international law ........................................................ 34 1. Historical background: going from sovereign to dependant and back ......................... 34 2. Improvement and struggles in the 20th century ............................................................ 35 B. Indigenous peoples’ rights in the UN system .................................................................. 37 1. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ............................................ 37 a. The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . 39 b. Monitoring mechanisms ............................................................................................ 40 c. Comment ................................................................................................................... 41 2. The use of the right to self-determination in the jurisprudence of the ICJ ................... 41 a. The case concerning East Timor (Portugal v. Australia) .......................................... 42 b. The case concerning Western Sahara ....................................................................... 43 3. The HCR and claims for self-determination in practice: The case of Bernard Ominayak, Chief of the Lubicon Lake Band v. Canada ................................................... 44 4. The UN Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples .......................................... 46 a. Historical background ............................................................................................... 46 aa. The Work of the WGIP ........................................................................................ 46 ab. The Work of the CDWG ...................................................................................... 48 b. Concept, ironies and application ............................................................................... 48 c. Art. 3 articulating the right to self-determination ................................................... 52 V d. Monitoring mechanisms ............................................................................................ 56 e. Comment ................................................................................................................... 57 f. Canada’s position towards the Declaration ................................................................ 58 C. ILO Conventions 107 and 169 ......................................................................................... 60 1. Convention 107 ............................................................................................................. 61 2. Convention 169 ............................................................................................................. 62 3. Monitoring mechanisms ................................................................................................ 65 4. Comment ....................................................................................................................... 66 D. International regional protection of indigenous peoples’ rights ...................................... 67 1. The OAS and the ADRIP .............................................................................................. 67 2. Monitoring mechanisms ................................................................................................ 70 3. The work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ................................. 71 a. The Report on the situation of human rights of a segment of the Nicaraguan