Two Palestinian men ride through the rubble of Gaza, one smiling—an everyday moment of resilience. Photo by gloucester2gaza, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)We’re excited to share another post in our blog series highlighting the Fourth World Journal Special Issue: Nations International Criminal Tribunal (NICT).
This blog focuses on the journal’s cornerstone: the NICT Charter, conceived of by Dr. Rudolph Rÿser and drafted with an international team of interdisciplinary scholars, activists and legal experts. More than a legal document, the Charter represents a visionary shift in how international justice might be reimagined through Indigenous leadership and worldviews. Developed in response to the Yezidi genocide and broader patterns of impunity for crimes against Indigenous peoples, the Charter offers a new path forward—one grounded in accountability, self-determination, and reparative justice. It proposes a tribunal with jurisdiction over crimes often ignored by dominant legal systems, including colonization and ecocide, and outlines mechanisms that integrate Indigenous customary law into the heart of its proceedings. As the foundation for the entire special issue, this piece invites readers to consider what justice can look like when it is shaped by those most impacted—and what it means to create legal systems that truly serve Indigenous nations.
The Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal (NICT) Charter outlines a hybrid legal framework to prosecute international crimes against Indigenous nations. The Charter originates from Dr. Rudolph Rÿser’s consultations with the Yezidi nation in northern Iraq following the 2014 genocide perpetrated by ISIS. Led by Rÿser, the Center for World Indigenous Studies worked with an international team to draft an instrument through which Indigenous Nations worldwide could seek legal redress for the ongoing and historical atrocities committed against them. The Charter comprises 13 sections detailing the jurisdiction, administration, and mechanisms by which the court operates. Among others, the tribunal oversees crimes of genocide, aggression, colonization, ecocide, and gender-based violence. The Charter provides a comprehensive set of codes guaranteeing due process for all parties involved. Unlike preceding international legal institutions, the NICT maps specific channels for enforcing rulings based on reparative justice principles—ensuring the self-determination and autonomy of Indigenous nations within the juridical process.
The library is dedicated to the memory of Secwepemc Chief George Manuel (1921-1989), to the nations of the Fourth World and to the elders and generations to come.
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