Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Constitutions Assessment Tool
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A constitution articulates a vision that reflects a state’s values and history, as well as its aspirational objectives for the future. As the supreme law of a state, the constitution defines its structure and institutions, distributes political power, and recognizes and protects fundamental rights, critically determining the relationship between citizens and governments.
Embedding in a constitution recognition of and rights-based protections for specific groups, such as indigenous peoples, can give these groups and their rights enhanced protection. This can be furthered by providing for specialized institutions and processes to deepen the realization of those rights in practice.
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Amanda Cats-Baril is International IDEA’s Senior Programme Officer for constitution-building in Asia and the Pacific. In this capacity, she supports constitution-building processes in Nepal, Myanmar and the Philippines, among other contexts, by providing technical assistance to governments, civil society organizations and International IDEA projects.
Cats-Baril is an international lawyer who specializes in constitutional law, human rights, post-conflict transitions and democratization. She focuses particularly on the promotion and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights and interests in the context of large-scale development and government reform processes.
Upon graduating from NYU School of Law, Cats-Baril served as an Arthur Helton Fellow supporting indigenous groups’ advocacy and engagement in Nepal’s constitution-writing process. She has since conducted legal analysis and programme design around Asia for international organizations including UNDP, ICJ, the World Bank and the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs.
Prior to joining International IDEA, Cats-Baril served as a democracy and governance specialist with USAID/Nepal, managing a portfolio of peacebuilding, conflict mitigation and local governance projects, and advising the US government on constitutional issues, transitional justice and conflict sensitivity.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with the mission to advance democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and enabler of sustainable development. We do this by supporting the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels. Our vision is a world in which democratic processes, actors and institutions are inclusive and accountable and deliver sustainable development to all.
