Virtual Consultation on the Situation of Mobile Indigenous Peoples

SESSION 1: 19 March 2024 at 8:00 AM Tucson, Arizona/10:00 AM Lima/15:00 United Kingdom/18:00 Kenya 
SESSION 2: 20 March 2024at 8:00 AM Kyrgyzstan/10:00 AM Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan/19:00 PM Tucson, Arizona
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The Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples will hold a virtual consultation to inform his annual report to the General Assembly on The Situation of Mobile Peoples, to be presented at its 79th session in October 2024. The discussion will address the situation of pastoralists, herders, hunter-gatherers, shifting agriculturalists, seafaring/maritime peoples and other mobile peoples who self-identify as Indigenous under international human rights law. The report will examine the impacts of extractive, tourism, conservation, climate change and green financing projects, as well as discriminatory laws, and other activities and practices on the collective rights of mobile Indigenous Peoples. The particular situation of transboundary mobile Indigenous Peoples will be considered, whose ancestral territories span national borders and who encounter discrimination, displacement, lack of recognition, restricted freedom of movement and limited access to basic services. Cross-border tensions and conflicts can expose mobile Indigenous Peoples to armed conflicts, harassment from border security forces, and other human rights abuses. Mobile Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact also face great challenges that require targeted responses by States. 

In some cases, States have failed to affirm the Indigenous status of self-identifying mobile peoples, instead characterizing them as ethnic minorities or claiming that all people are Indigenous to the country. The itinerant or semi-itinerant lifestyles of mobile and semi-mobile Indigenous Peoples are deeply rooted in historical, ecological, and cultural factors. Their livelihoods often “depend on common property use of natural resources,” “where mobility is both a distinctive source of cultural identity and a management strategy for sustainable resource use and conservation.”[1]  As Indigenous Peoples increasingly migrate to urban areas,[2] the specific needs and rights of mobile Indigenous Peoples are often overlooked. Understanding the complexities of their way of life is crucial for protecting their human rights.

Pastoralists and other mobile Indigenous Peoples who protect the biodiversity of rangelands through sustainable land use and livestock production face threats to their livelihoods and food security as lands become degraded and privatized. Mobile peoples commonly experience eviction and forced or induced sedentarisation. Displacement can occur when States declare Indigenous Peoples’ territories as empty or “terra nullius” where there is no evidence of permanent human settlement. Due to this failure by States to recognize and respect their mobile lifestyles, mobile Indigenous Peoples face great barriers in accessing basic fundamental rights, including education, health care, and justice.

The rights of mobile Indigenous Peoples must be understood and addressed under the framework of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, International Labour Organization Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and other applicable international and regional human rights instruments. These international standards recognize Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands, territories, natural resources, self-government, self-determination, and way of life, which form the basis of their collective identity and their physical, economic and cultural survival.

The Dana Declaration on Mobile Peoples and Conservation (2002) was adopted by scientists and representatives of mobile peoples to protect biodiversity while furthering respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration was endorsed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [3] and followed by the Dana+20 Manifesto on Mobile Peoples (2022). The Manifesto specifically calls on the United Nations to issue a report on the situation of Mobile Indigenous Peoples with specific recommendations for upholding their rights.[4] 

PROSPECTIVE AGENDA