Advanced Introduction to Indigenous Human Rights

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.

In this vital Advanced Introduction, Dinah Shelton and Federico Guzman Duque examine the human rights of indigenous peoples and communities under current international law. Setting out a historical overview of the legal treatment of native populations from the colonial period to the present, the authors deftly analyse frameworks of institutions monitoring indigenous human rights, theoretical issues relating to these, access to justice and reparations, and special considerations afforded to specific indigenous communities.



Key Features:







Surveyance of the jurisprudence of all major regional human rights systems, including UN-Charter based and UN-treaty bodies


Analysis of indigenous rights case law adopted by international bodies, with emphasis on leading and ground-breaking rulings


Special focus on less-understood emerging aspects of the law, including the situation of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists, the nuances of territorial rights, and the impacts of violence and armed conflict upon indigenous existences



Providing a panoramic view of a complex and rapidly evolving subject, this Advanced Introduction will prove a crucial read for legal practitioners and public officials, as well as indigenous leaders and human rights defenders. It will also appeal to students, scholars and researchers of human rights law, and law and society.