Foregrounding Human Dignity

Abstract

This article will unpack the conceptual causal link between pervasive indigenous peoples’ rights violations in Africa and implementation of protected areas legislation devoid of respect for human dignity as an interpretive principle to guide implementation of the laws in question. Specifically, I will examine the extent to which protected areas laws of six selected Southern and Eastern African countries namely Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda foster respect for human dignity as a means of protecting rights of indigenous communities. A key finding of this article is that most of the laws enacted to establish and manage protected areas in Eastern and Southern Africa are human-dignity blind. This is because, despite occasionally undergoing cosmetic amendments since the attainment of political independence, the laws in question are largely relics of colonialism. In order to establish the causal link and draw the above conclusion, I will first explore the legal foundations of human dignity as exemplified by the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and Constitutions of the six study jurisdictions. I will also look at the disproportional targeting of indigenous peoples in protected areas as documented in two reports submitted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the UN General Assembly. Relatedly, I will address a central question namely who indigenous peoples are in the African setting, followed by a survey of protected areas legislation, juxtaposed with framework environmental laws of the six study jurisdictions. Lastly, I will explore the potential change of storylines or value addition of enshrining human dignity in protected areas legislation. This article recommends inclusion of provisions on human dignity as a global prescription for remedying both the historical and continued injustices and discriminatory practices against indigenous peoples in the context of protected areas establishment, management, and expansion.