The Batwa Indigenous People of Uganda and Their Traditional Forest Land: Eviction, Non-Collaboration and Unfulfilled Needs
Abstract
The growing literature about the Batwa indigenous people in Uganda has uncovered the interplay between global power, local realities, and current interventions. However, this literature has not adequately focused on the relationship between the eviction of numerically small indigenous groups from their land and their consequent plight. Therefore, this study reviews available literature on the events, processes, and consequences of the Batwa eviction from their traditional forest land in the early 1990s. The literature reviewed suggests that the application of international standards was not respected; it also shows that the Batwa were evicted without their free, prior, and informed consent. Additionally, the total resettlement of the Batwa has failed dramatically; they face appalling economic, health, and social conditions. In conclusion, the paper asserts that a greater international control of compliance (by international and national actors) with applicable standards must be observed, and sincere measures to redress the Batwa land eviction ought to follow guiding instruments on the rights of indigenous people.
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