Importance of language rights of indigenous tribal minorities & their protection under the ambit of Human Rights Law

Résumé

This paper starts with the argument that, whether Language rights are considered as a part of Human Rights under various International Treaties & Conventions. If yes, then how far the recognition is substantive in protecting the Linguistic Rights especially with reference to Indigenous Tribal Minorities (ITM) communities across the globe and with case studies involving India. Further, this research examines whether the protection of Language or Linguistic Rights covers the importance of Language in accessing health care which is considered one of the most fundamental human rights, and how due to the non-recognition of Language rights of Indigenous Tribal Minorities, there is a grave miscarriage of justice and violation of their human rights. This paper will also involve a critical legal analysis of various judgments under various jurisdictions and how the issue of language rights has been considered and how far it has been considered instrumental in linking with human rights such as access to health care facilities. This paper by taking the example of non -accessibility to health care access due to lack of linguistic recognition tries to uncover how language plays a crucial role, especially in the linguistic minorities communities, especially that of Indigenous Tribal and results in discrimination due to the communication gap that has been created due to negligent legislative approach. Lastly, the paper studies various best practices followed by some of the countries from which other countries could learn and implement in their respective legislations to protect the human rights of Indigenous Tribal Minority communities.