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The objective of the complaint is to declare that the State of Chile has violated the rights of the Rapa Nui People since the Agreement of Will of 1888, and therefore, it is required that "the collective property of the Rapa Nui People over their territory and its natural resources ".
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared admissible the lawsuit presented by the Council of Elders and the Rapa Nui Parliament, against the State of Chile, and in which they ask to recognize the ownership of the island's ancestral lands.
The legal action was sponsored by lawyers Ciro Colombara, Aldo Díaz and Carola Cotroneo. In this sense, according to the international organization, the alleged facts “could characterize violations of articles 4 (right to life) 26, 8 (judicial guarantees), 12 (freedom of conscience and religion), 21 ( right to property) and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention, to the detriment of the Rapa Nui indigenous community, all in light of Articles 1.1 and 2 of said instrument, "explained attorney Colombara.
The lawsuit points to the international responsibility of the Chilean State for the alleged violation of the right to collective property of the Rapa Nui People over the island's territory and natural resources, in addition to their right to autonomy. In this sense, it is recalled that the requests for recognition and autonomy were constant for more than 125 years, but despite this, currently more than 70% of the ancestral territory of Rapa Nui is managed and is under the ownership of the State. of Chile, which inevitably damages the lifestyle and development of the indigenous people.
The lawyer Colombara assures, in this line, that the objective of the complaint is to declare that the State of Chile has violated the rights of the Rapa Nui People since the Agreement of Will of 1888, and therefore, it is required that “ establish the collective property of the Rapa Nui People over their territory and over their natural resources.
«The declaration of admissibility of the case is very relevant. It means that the Commission accepted our request for priority of the case. And he agrees that the Rapa Nui People have the right of collective property over their territory. It is a great step forward and the next step is for the Commission to issue its final report and then the case goes to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, "added Colombara.
Now, the State of Chile has 4 months to present its defense before the IACHR. This, prior to the case being reviewed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
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Related to SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions and SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
