Substance
Right to development – article 22
With regard to indigenous communities, article 22 of the Charter should be read in line with
article 23 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which
requires that indigenous people be actively involved in the design and implementation of
policies and programmes that affect them. The failure of a respondent state to effectively
consult indigenous communities on development activities amounts to a violation of the right
to development (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v Kenya, application
006/2012, Judgement, 26 May 2017, paras 209 & 210).