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Home > School of Law > Law School Journals > ILJ > Vol. 27 > Iss. 2 (2026)

 

San Diego International Law Journal

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466.html

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

This Comment examines the legal and ethical considerations of self-determination as applied to the world’s last uncontacted tribes—indigenous communities that live isolated from mainstream society. While the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) established a foundational framework for uncontacted tribes’ right to self-determination, its implementation in practice faces jurisdictional, ethical, and legal issues. By examining international and domestic legal instruments, case studies from India and Brazil, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in indigenous land monitoring, this Comment argues that domestic and international bodies must collaborate to enforce more tailored protections to guard the autonomy of uncontacted indigenous peoples. This Comment discusses several doctrinal challenges, including the undefined status of “indigenous,” evidentiary barriers to land claims, jurisdictional enforcement conflicts, and ethical dilemmas surrounding consent and representation. This Comment proposes a multi-layered enforcement strategy that would balance state sovereignty and international accountability. This method would seek to incorporate artificial intelligence and collaborative oversight structures to ensure greater protections for uncontacted tribes. Overall, this Comment seeks to promote a legal theory of self-determination that co-exists with the right to isolation and offer mechanisms to protect this right.

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