Abstract

SINDANI, Jonas Kakule. Towards an integrated approach to indigenous peoples' rights to health and education: insights from Batwa v DRC before the African Commission. AHRY [online]. 2024, vol.8, pp.580-601. ISSN 2663-323X.  https://doi.org/10.29053/2523-1367/2024/v8a23.

This commentary analyses the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights' decision in Minority Rights Group International and Environnement Ressources Naturelles et Développement (on behalf of Batwa from the Parc national de Kahuzi-Biega, RDC) v République démocratique du Congo (Batwa v DRC). After five years of unsuccessful attempts to secure justice and reparations domestically, the plaintiffs brought their case to the African Commission in 2015. They alleged violent evictions and human rights violations against the Batwa community, a hunter-gatherer group with deep ancestral ties to the Kahuzi mountain forests, which are central to their way of life and livelihood. The commentary highlights the African Commission's findings on the Congolese government's failure to uphold the Batwa's rights to health and education. It underscores the Commission's integrated approach, which contextualises these rights within the broader social and structural determinants affecting indigenous peoples. This legal reasoning positions human rights not only as a legal obligation but also as a moral imperative to address the Batwa's historical marginalisation and systemic inequalities. The analysis emphasises the importance of maintaining a focus on these specific determinants in legal, political, and public policy debates concerning indigenous peoples' rights. Neglecting these factors risks obscuring the unique vulnerabilities and marginalisation faced by indigenous groups, reducing their struggles to general human rights issues detached from the realities of their lived experiences.

Keywords : affaire Batwa v DRC; santé; éducation; Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega; peuples autochtones; aires protégées; expropriation.

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