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Abstract
Aboriginality Under the Microscope: The Biological Descent
Test in Australian Law
In order to access statutory rights and privileges designed for the exclusive
benefit of indigenous people, Aboriginal people must prove their Aboriginal descent.
Descent is judicially interpreted to mean genetic difference. Analyses of the
human genome demonstrate that all humans are closely related and that race as
a single definable genetic characteristic does not exist. Australian Aboriginal
populations are among the most ancient and genetically diverse in the world, therefore
there is no way of identifying a distinctly Aboriginal genotype. This paper argues
that the present legal test is both unprovable and infringes international human
rights.
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