The Right of Indigenous Peoples to Self-determination as a Legal Protection against Land Dispossessions in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government has handed over huge tracts of land to investors by alienating land from indigenous peoples. The thesis examines whether the right to self-determination under the Ethiopian Constitution and international law as incorporated into Ethiopian domestic law can confer on indigenous peoples in Ethiopia protection against land dispossessions. The thesis contends that this right under the relevant laws confers on indigenous peoples in Ethiopia the right to maintain access and ties to, and control over, their land. Thus, it argues that the Ethiopian government’s current practice of dispossessing indigenous groups of their land is contrary to their right to self-determination under the relevant laws.