REINFORCING THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS TO HEALTH IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A PANACEA FOR SUSTAINABLE HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION.

Abstract

The rights of indigenous people have over the past three decades become an important issue of international law and policy as a result of movement driven by indigenous peoples, civil society, international mechanisms and states at the domestic, regional and international levels. Indigenous peoples are recognized as being among the world’s most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized peoples. In order to identify, recognized and protect indigenous people rights, it is necessary to know who are indigenous people? The definition cannot be static, but must change with times and from place to place. This paper analyses the statutory definitions of indigenous peoples, and their rights as provided under the United Nations legal framework and other regional frameworks. This paper examines the Indigenous Peoples distinctive concepts of health and their vulnerability to COVID-19 Pandemic. This paper however asked: whether the Rights to Health Covers the indigenous people, thereby making it binding on a far greater number of actors? And what are Indigenous Peoples Human Rights issues? However, this paper noted that the United Nations Human Rights System, its mechanism, laws and policies have been at the heart of these developments. This paper adopts analytical and qualitative approach and builds its argument on existing literatures, which is achieved by a synthesis of ideas. This paper has drawn the conclusion that the rights of indigenous peoples are also increasingly being formally incorporated into domestic legal systems.