The respect for human rights in international law entails a basic principle for our existence in a globalised world where socio-legal, economic, cultural and physical boundaries are polarised and fluid. Innovative concepts and new developmental approaches are emerging to augment gender equity and equality for all. The growing recognition of women’s leadership roles in diverse sectors at local, regional and international levels is indicative of a need to bridge the chasm by prioritising the gender justice agenda, especially regarding the effect and role of international law on Indigenous women. This specifically refers to the efforts made by Indigenous women in the Global South (which includes Africa, Asia and South Africa) who are charting their own course in international law while resisting Western hegemonic dominance to engineer social change, warrants’ examination, support and understanding. Referencing the effect of colonial history on Indigenous feminists in the Global South, this chapter adds to existing discourse on the prospects of Indigenous women’s engagement with international law. It concludes that while their future in international law is grim, a focus on creating a new generation of young leaders is recommended.

Veronica Fynn Bruey is an award-winning scholar with an extensive interdisciplinary background in law, public health, and forced migration. She has published two books, several book chapters and peer-review journal articles. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Internal Displacement, the founding editor-in-chief of the University of Cape Coast Faculty of Law Journal, the founder of the Law and Society's Collaborative Research Network (CRN 11) called “Displaced Peoples”, and the co-founder and Executive Director of Tuki-Tumarankeh, a non-profit organisation focused on forced migration issues. She sits on the Board of the Public Health Association of British Columbia and the World Computer Exchange, Canada branch. She is the Director of Flowers School of Global Health Sciences; an affiliated faculty of Seattle University School of Law; an Module Convenor with the School of Advanced Studies (Human Rights), University of London; and a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy in Liberia, the only policy think-tank in Liberia. Currently, she lectures at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast. Fynn Bruey is a born and bred Liberian war survivor. 

This presentation is run by the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, ANU.