UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs

The paper explores the potential for international human rights law to further articulation of indigenous rights to environment. The paper does so by using the case of sea peoples struggling against marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia as an illustration clarifying how provisions in international human rights instruments can advance indigenous interests against environmental harms. The term “sea peoples” references the Bajau, Moken, and Orang Laut peoples, whose communities span multiple countries in the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) and whose cultures are tied closely to the marine environment. The paper applies international human rights instruments to identify legal rights covering substantive, procedural, and legal personality issues relevant to the concerns of sea peoples contending with marine plastic pollution. In doing so, the analysis demonstrates an international human rights law approach to the delineation of indigenous rights to environment.