International human rights law provides all victims of human rights violations with a right to a remedy. Without such recourse, justice is of little use. The right to remedy has five principle components – restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition – each of which entails various types of reparations and none of which are mutually exclusive. Thus, victims of human rights violations may ask for, and legal institutions may order human rights offenders to undertake, a variety of reparations based on the specific circumstances of each case. This report explains the right to remedy as it is understood in international law with a specific focus on the rights of indigenous peoples, and provides various examples of the types of reparations that have been ordered by tribunals in the Inter-American and African human rights systems. The report will serve as a guide to indigenous peoples, legal practitioners, and civil organizations alike on where the right to remedy is found and what types of remedies they may request.
