International Legal Support for the Fight
Alianza and EDLC decided to focus their legal strategy on international law and law from other nations to complement the community’s local lawyers’ claims based on Mexican law. EDLC recruited a team of lawyers at DLA Piper US to research and write an experts’ report for use in the case pending before Mexico’s Agrarian Tribunal.
Many countries in Central America and South America have given legal recognition in recent years to the right of indigenous peoples to receive title to lands that they have traditionally occupied. Unlike in Mexico, administrative procedures have been established under these national laws that enable indigenous peoples to assert and prove their land claims.
At the same time, a key legal development has been the increasing resort of indigenous peoples to the human rights’ protections afforded by the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights- the legal body responsible for implementing the Convention’s protections- has declared that indigenous peoples are entitled to “special protection.” The Court has also repeatedly ruled that the American Convention requires States to recognize the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their traditional lands, and to create processes to demarcate and title these lands.
The lawyers from DLA Piper therefore argued that Mexico has failed to adequately recognize indigenous land rights, in contrast to other national governments in Central America and South America, and in violation of its obligations under the American Convention and other international human rights treaties to which Mexico is a signatory.
Choreachi Today
As of mid-2011, all the hearings have taken place, and the court is now receiving expert studies on anthropology and topography. Hopes are high for a successful outcome, despite the limitations of the Mexican legislation in recognizing territorial rights for indigenous peoples. This case will determine the fate of a people, their sacred lands and forests, and their ability to survive as a culture. And if the court rules in favor of Choreachi, this could be an important precedent for many other indigenous people in Mexico whose untitled communities may bring similar claims.
Choreachi of Mexico
- Experts’ Report Concerning the Land and Natural Resource Rights of the Community of Choreachi, Mexico under International Law, prepared by DLA Piper US (2007)