Conversation between Lilia Yuldasheva, Suleiman Mamutov, Selbi Durdiyeva, and Viliuia Choinova on what decolonial critique can offer for the better understanding of the history, conceptual framework, and institutions of modern-day international law and human rights. 

This is the first part of a two-chapter episode of the Bur'yan podcast, dedicated to the critical approaches to the history of human rights discourse and major international law institutions — the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the Security Council as one of its bodies — that were created after World War II by its victors. 

Who was excluded from the process of creating what we now know as the human rights framework? This framework — its conceptual apparatus, legal basis, and institutions — was supposedly designed to represent the interests and struggles of people around the world. However, the coloniality embedded in the core of international law from the start manifests itself through the exclusion of various groups of people and the reproduction of existing hierarchies.

As one such group, indigenous and stateless peoples have, from the start, fought for structural change and the reconceptualization of the key terms and the entire epistemology of human rights. They demand recognition of a more complex political system that includes not only nation-states but also a variety of human and non-human relations and communities. 

For the detailed discussion on all of these topics and much more — listen to the episode!     

Speakers: 

Selbi Durdiyeva, a socio-legal researcher with a focus on transitional justice and decolonisation, is the author of a monograph, 'The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice: The Case of Russia', published by Routledge in 2024.

Suleiman Mamutov, an expert at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the legal adviser of Amnesty International Ukraine.

Viliuia Choinova, an environmental engineer and Sakha activist from the Republic of Sakha.

Moderated by Lilia Yuldasheva, queer and decolonial researcher and activist. 

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