American Indian Culture and Research Journal

INTRODUCTION Over the past thirty years, a dramatic upsurge has taken place in activities designed to promote human rights for indigenous peoples around the world. More and more calls have been heard from indigenous groups and their supporters for promotion of civil and political right. In the case of Africa, attention generally has concentrated on what can broadly be called socioeconomic rights, especially the right of everyone to a standard of living that is adequate to assure health and well-being; sufficient food, water, and shelter; and social security. The plight of indigenous peoples in Africa has been underscored by the spectres of starvation and widespread, growing poverty. The African continent has the fastest population growth rate in the world. At the same time, the population-to-resource ratio is such that many areas are becoming overexploited. The situation has given rise to the problems of famine, degradation, and economic crisis in some African countries and regions. These difficulties are especially acute among indigenous peoples in Africa, many of whom face problems of hunger and landlessness. While many indigenous peoples have become involved in efforts to promote human rights and development at the international level, the indigenous populations of Africa have participated only to a limited extent in international forums such as the meetings of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous people. One reason for this lack of involvement, according to some analysts, is that, historically, indigenous peoples in Africa were often in disadvantaged positions. Secondly, the indigenous peoples of Africa tend, in most cases, to reside in remote areas. As a consequence, they frequently are marginalized politically and are cut off from information about international events such as those sponsored by the United Nations or multilateral donor agencies. As one government planner in Botswana put it, "They have little or no chance to get jobs, much less travel to New York or Geneva to take part in international meetings."