This paper seeks to highlight the historical and existing problems associated with the protection of indigenous people’s culture within the parameters of international law. Specifically, it concentrates on the resettlement policies of the People’s Republic of China and their impact on the livelihoods and culture of Tibetan nomads.
Additionally, it seeks to link this contemporary story of development-based loss within the wider global narrative of cultural and biological loss of all traditional peoples, particularly nomadic peoples. It goes on to emphasize one vital aspect of global Indigenous culture, indigenous Knowledge (IK), and calls for its urgent protection under international law.
Finally, the paper calls for global policy makers to strengthen international law relating to indigenous issues, and in the process, compelling China, and all the central global actors, to live up to their pledges and commitments within the international human rights framework.