The Promises and Limits of Rights (with Professors Claire Charters & Angela Riley)

This talk brings together Angela Riley and Claire Charters – two leading scholars and advocates in the field of Indigenous rights and law – for a critical dialogue on the promises and limits of rights frameworks.

The discussion will explore the intersections between international human rights law, Indigenous law, and the ways Indigenous communities are both empowered and constrained by legal recognition. Riley and Charters will highlight how rights-based approaches can create powerful platforms for visibility and advocacy, while also examining how these frameworks may inadvertently entrench colonial structures by confining Indigenous sovereignty within state-based legal paradigms.

The panel will further delve into the generative potential of Indigenous law itself as a framing that resists and reimagines the boundaries set by dominant legal systems. By weaving together comparative insights from the United States, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and international forums, the conversation will open space to reflect on how Indigenous worldviews and jurisprudence provide avenues for justice and sovereign governance.

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