Indigenous Rights: Self-Determination, Justice and Decolonial Futures
Launch Symposium of the Indigenous Rights Cluster, Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR)
Date: Thursday, 3 December 2026
Time: 9:00 am–8:00 pm
Venue: University College Cork, C_WGB_G05
Registration: https://forms.gle/7jTCYWGS5MVu7RsW8
The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR) at University College Cork is pleased to announce Indigenous Rights: Self-Determination, Justice and Decolonial Futures, a one-day international symposium marking the launch of its new Indigenous Rights Cluster.
Bringing together scholars, researchers, practitioners and advocates, the symposium will explore pressing questions concerning Indigenous peoples' rights, self-determination, environmental justice and decolonisation.
Discussions will address Indigenous self-determination and recognition; land rights, conservation and extractive governance; free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); and participation, education and access to justice. The symposium will also consider the role of law in both sustaining and challenging colonial structures, while creating opportunities for interdisciplinary dialogue and future collaboration.
The programme will feature an opening keynote by Professor Jérémie Gilbert (University of Southampton), entitled Indigenous Peoples' Rights and the Rights of Nature: Convergences, Synergies and Limitations, alongside three thematic research panels and the formal launch of the Indigenous Rights Cluster.
JUSTNORTH Documentary Screening and Discussion
18:00–20:00 | Film and Screen Media Auditorium (Room B10.B), Kane Building, UCC
The symposium will conclude with a screening of JUSTNORTH, a documentary exploring the struggles of Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic to protect their rights, traditional lands, cultures and ways of life amid climate change, resource extraction and economic development.
The screening will be introduced by documentary filmmaker and director Adrian Fisk (Alucinari Productions) and followed by a facilitated discussion and audience Q&A.
Registration
All those interested in Indigenous rights, human rights law, environmental justice and decolonial approaches are warmly invited to attend.
Register here: https://forms.gle/7jTCYWGS5MVu7RsW8
This symposium is generously supported by the National University of Ireland (NUI) through the NUI Grant Scheme for Early Career Academics 2025, awarded to Dr Elena Kavanagh, School of Law, University College Cork.
For more on this story contact:
Dr. Elena Kavanagh at elena.kavanagh@ucc.ie