harvests and intensified food insecurity in the region.<sup>68</sup> Instinctively, states may be forced to introduce policies that redefine how indigenous populations exercise their territorial sovereignty. Thus, even in the absence of obligations, indigenous groups have rights and are entitled to some protections which may justify intervention by both states and international development agencies under appropriate circumstances.<sup>69</sup> This position is reinforced by Article 39 of the Declaration which recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to have access to financial and technical assistance from states and through international cooperation, for the enjoyment of their rights.

# _Preexisting Rights and Corresponding Duties under International Law_

Notwithstanding the preceding arguments, states have already-existing obligations under international law to guarantee, protect, and fulfil basic rights. These obligations extend to indigenous tribes as it does the rest of the population. That indigenous peoples have a right to self-determination does not detract from the state’s obligation to comply with their obligations under the law. These obligations arise under multiple international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child – and apply to indigenous populations even in the absence of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The rights articulated by these instruments are inherent and are ascribed not on the basis of the values of a people or their status, but by virtue of their humanity or existence. Hence, indigenous people also possess these inalienable rights that are guaranteed and protected by these international instruments. The collection of rights includes both negative and positive rights, some of which require specific action by the state and may justify state interference in the affairs of indigenous populations.

In discharging their obligations under these instruments, states must treat all citizens fairly and equitably without discrimination. The principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination prescribes that all persons, regardless of their circumstances, are accrued the opportunity to realize their inalienable human rights. A state must, where necessary, implement measures to ensure that its citizens enjoy the full realization of their rights. Prioritizing other regions and outrightly neglecting the development of indigenous tribes may indicate discrimination against indigenous groups by the state. While non-intervention is remarked as a sign of respect for the right of indigenous people to determine how to organize their social, economic, and political affairs, completely refusing to render aid to or establish relevant institutions for indigenous tribes is overt discrimination. Exemplifying this is the historical relationship between the Ugandan government and the Karamojong, which has witnessed the Karamojong’s exclusion from development processes. Shortly after independence, then Prime Minister Milton Obote was reported to have said, “We shall not wait for Karamoja to develop.”<sup>70</sup> The Ugandan government subsequently neglected the Karamoja by failing to provide the resources needed

> 68 Lindsey Doermann (20230, ‘Karamoja Beset with Drought’, NASA Earth Observatory (last visited Jan 19, 2024). <u>https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151969/karamoja-beset-with-drought</u> 69 Article 7(4) of the ILO Convention No. 169 provides enjoins Governments to take measures, in co-operation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to protect and preserve the environment of the territories they inhabit.

> 70 ‘Waiting for Karamoja to develop: Of Uganda’s uneven development’, _Monitor_ (2020), <u>https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/special-reports/uganda-50/waiting-for-karamoja-to-develop-of-uganda-s-unevendevelopment-1518964</u> (last visited Jan 22, 2024).

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