Abstract
Indigenous populations regard their cultural identity as central to their way of life, and their traditional lifestyles often place them in remote areas, isolating them from mainstream society. This isolation creates a unique set of human rights challenges, such as limited access to healthcare, restricted political representation, housing insecurity, and poor living conditions, making them especially vulnerable compared to other groups. In the context of climate change and the rising frequency of natural disasters worldwide, these vulnerabilities become more protracted and intensified. Since Indigenous populations already face structural disadvantages before disasters strike, such events deepen their vulnerabilities, increase their risk of harm, and reduce their ability to cope with extreme shocks and recover effectively. This paper explores whether Indigenous populations form a distinct group that requires a specific protection framework during disasters. The study affirms this: if these populations are more vulnerable even before disasters, any appropriate post-disaster response must explicitly address those vulnerabilities. A key point is the need to mainstream Indigenous populations in disaster response management by systematically including their rights, knowledge, and differentiated needs into all stages of disaster response and recovery. To support this, the research identifies critical human rights principles to guide the assessment of indigenous disaster victims. It develops a rights-based recovery framework that accounts for both their pre-existing vulnerabilities and the additional risks that emerge after disasters. Employing a secondary qualitative approach, the study reviews case studies, peer-reviewed literature, and reports from international organizations to justify the need to integrate Indigenous populations to achieve fair, dignity-preserving, and sustainable recovery outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Chigbu, Portia Ozioma
(2026)
"From Vulnerability to Justice: Reframing Indigenous Disaster Recovery Through a Human Rights-Based Lens,"
Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law: Vol. 16:
Iss.
2, Article 7.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndjicl/vol16/iss2/7
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