For indigenous peoples, their relationship with lands or territories has special importance for their cultures and spiritual values and ultimately for their continued existence as distinct peoples. Therefore, indigenous peoples are identified as distinct and collective rights-holders in the context of international law, most prominently in the UNDRIP, with a well-defined set of rights to lands, territories and resources. These are not special rights, but special measures to ensure that indigenous peoples can enjoy the full range of human rights on an equal footing with other segments of the population. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples’ rights, particularly to lands, territories and resources, are in many cases violated due to non-recognition by States or non-implementation or enforcement of existing legislation. These violations have severe consequences on the peoples affected, as well as on the societies in which they live, engendering conflict and insecurity.
Indigenous peoples are estimated to comprise more than 370 million people worldwide. While they constitute approximately 5% of the world’s population, they make up 15% of its poor and about one-third of its 900 million extremely poor rural people (DESA, 2009: 21).