'Let the people decide': self-determination, liberation from the colonial experience and the human rights approach

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)The most prominent engagement of the right of self-determination to date was in the decolonisation era, when it was asserted to facilitate the emergence to independence of formerly colonised peoples. The newly decolonised states met the ‘salt-water’ test of colonialism, and their boundaries were drawn on the basis of uti possidetis juris. Self-determination is less frequently asserted today, however, contemporary ‘hard cases’ remain. Of these cases, some involve peoples who can demonstrate a continuing colonial experience. For varying reasons, these claimants do not meet the salt-water colonial test and their claims are often overlooked by the international community. Their circumstances are regarded mostly as internal political issues for their administering states. This is unjust and inhibitive of creative self-determination solutions in multi-ethnic states. Self-determination, as a universal human right, retains the potential to meet the needs of these contemporary, anti-colonial claimants. However, it must be interpreted in new ways in order to adapt to the differing circumstances of contemporary claimants. This thesis examines the significance of the colonial experience for two contemporary claimant peoples; Irish nationalists in the North of Ireland, and Indigenous peoples in Australia. I argue that the contemporary colonial experiences of these claimant groups must be acknowledged and addressed, in order to evaluate their self-determination claims in a context of truth and justice. I also argue that a human rights-based approach to the right of self-determination must be established, to address the circumstances of contemporary claimants and enable the balancing of their rights with those of the peoples with whom they share territory. Data gathered through in-depth interviews has shaped my findings regarding the colonial experience of contemporary self-determination claimants, and the range of means by which a twenty-first century approach to the right may be developed. This data proves the value of consulting with rights claimants, and the ways in which their perspectives might reshape state responses to self-determination issues. States willing to respond to the perspectives of rights claimants can improve their international standing, strengthen human rights discourse and enhance the wellbeing of all groups in their societies