Reviewing the Implementation of International Legal Instruments Relating to the Rights of Indigenous People ( A Study of Maya Case, Belize, Claim No 171 of 2007 and Claim No 172 of 2007)

Wienata, Sally (2011) Reviewing the Implementation of International Legal Instruments Relating to the Rights of Indigenous People ( A Study of Maya Case, Belize, Claim No 171 of 2007 and Claim No 172 of 2007). Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Internasional Batam.

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Abstract

In 2004, it was reported that two Maya villages sued the government, claiming that their constitutional rights to property and equality had been breached by Belize and asking that the court to declare and provide redress for the violations. As a member of international community, Belize is a party to several international treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD); and The Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS); all of which have been interpreted as requiring states to respect the rights of indigenous peoples over their land and resources. This research is to identify the indigenous peoples especially who live in Belize. It is also to discover they key issues relating to the indigenous people and the implication of the case to the international legal instruments. This research is a normative legal research which uses a qualitative method. Based on this research, it is found that the rights of indigenous people in the Maya Case, Belize is protected due to the existence of customary land tenure in Toledo District. In the Maya Case, Belize, both members of Santa Cruz and Conejo are entitled to the lands they occupy and use as their ancestors before them had. Therefore, the doctrine of terra nullius is not applicable to Maya Case, Belize. The rights of indigenous people are well recognized and protected by international community through international legal instruments. Some of these instruments have been ratified by Belize. In the Maya case, Belize both customary international law and general principles of international law also require the government of Belize respect the rights of its indigenous people to their lands and resources, therefore the indigenous people of Maya should be protected and enjoy their rights on their lands according to their traditional land tenure. Key words: indigenous peoples, Maya, Belize, international human rights.

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