Operationalizing the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination /

"This book brings together eleven contributors who discuss the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination. All authors are recognized experts in the field, some as academics, others as indigenous activists or international lawyers. The idea behind bringing together this group of writers and their contributions is the belief of the editors that the best way to solve the seeming impasse in the process towards a United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is to operationalize the right of self-determination. The difficulties in the process towards a Declaration are often attributed to the controversial nature of the right of self-determination and, in particular, persistent suspicions on the side of many governments in relation to the inclusion of the right of self-determination in the Declaration. The editors hope that an open and manifold, concrete discussion of what the right of self-determination means when applied to indigenous peoples may help to dissolve unfounded suspicions.

Within this volume, the operationalization of the right of self-determination is carried out on three levels covered by the three sections of the book: public international law (S. James Anaya, Benedict Kingsbury and Patrick Thornberry), human rights law (Erica-Irene A. Daes, Kristian Myntti, John B. Henriksen, Ayitegan Kouevi, Ted Moses and Martin Scheinin) and the concrete case of the Nordic indigenous people, the Sami (Kristian Myntti and Lars-Anders Baer)." -- Provided by publisher