A/HRC/EMRIP/2019/2
13.
Other relevant rights under the United Nations human rights treaties include the
cross-cutting right of equality and non-discrimination, and article 12 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right to liberty of movement is an
indispensable condition for the free development of a person. The rights for those lawfully
in a State to freedom of movement within the whole territory of the State and to freedom to
choose one’s residency, are particularly relevant for indigenous peoples. Subject to certain
restrictions, the right to choose one’s residency includes protection against all forms of
forced internal displacement. That right also includes the freedom to leave a country and
the right not to be “arbitrarily deprived” of entering one’s own country, which has a
particular importance for indigenous refugees seeking voluntary repatriation. It also implies
the prohibition of enforced population transfers or mass expulsions to other countries. 11
Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 3 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment both prohibit the return of anyone to a State where there are substantial
grounds to believe that they will be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman, degrading
treatment or punishment, irrespective of the person’s legal status or whether the person is a
refugee.
14.
Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognizes the
right of minorities to enjoy their own culture or to profess and practise their own religion
and to use their own language in community with the other members of their group. The
Committee has linked that right to the right to internal self-determination, to political
participation (art. 25 of the Covenant) and to other rights in the Declaration, observing that
article 27 “enshrines an inalienable right to indigenous peoples to freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.12 Article
27 confers rights on indigenous peoples who “exist” in a State: they do not need to be
nationals, citizens or permanent residents and it is not dependent upon their recognition by
the State. Thus, indigenous migrant workers or even visitors in a State cannot be denied the
exercise of the rights under article 27. Those rights are also recognized in the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and
the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.13
15.
Another relevant instrument on migration is the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, including
articles 64 to 71, which relate to the promotion of sound, equitable, humane and lawful
conditions in connection with international migration of workers and members of their
families. There are also the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement for the protection
from displacement, during displacement and on humanitarian assistance, return,
resettlement and reintegration (see E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, annex). The Special Rapporteur
on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on
the right to non-discrimination in this context and the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights have jurisprudence and recommendations on forced evictions, the right to
housing and States’ obligations thereto and also obligations prior to during and after
evictions and remedies for forced evictions.14
16.
Other instruments relevant to cross-border migration of indigenous peoples is the
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour
Organization, in article 32, concerning the need for Governments to facilitate cooperation
between indigenous peoples across borders, and article 16, on relocation. Under the
auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Cancun
11
12
13
14
See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 27 (1999) on freedom of movement.
See Sanila-Aikio v. Finland (CCPR/C/124/D/2668/2015), para. 6.8.
See IOM, Legal Aspects of Assisting Venezuelan Indigenous Migrants in Brazil (Brasilia, 2019),
pp. 91–93.
A/HRC/4/18; United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Assessing the Impact of Eviction: Handbook
(2014); https://unhabitat.org/books/assessing-the-impact-of-eviction-handbook/; Basic Principles and
Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Adequate Housing (2007), available at www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/docs/guidelines_en.pdf.
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