The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACR) recently filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court), concerning the alleged violation of human rights under the American Convention by Chile's government in relation to the Mapuche indigenous people. The IACR's application alleges that Chilean terrorism offence legislation unlawfully targets a specific ethnic group in a blanket fashion.
The IACR is a principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS). It derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights, which is to promote respect for human rights in the region and to act as a consultative body to the OAS. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
The IACR claims that the Chilean government incorrectly applied a terrorism offences law in a way that took victims' ethnic origins into consideration and which was unjustified and discriminatory - selectively applying the terrorism offence legislation to members of the Mapuche community. Since Chile's transition to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s, the Mapuche people (who live in south-central Chile and south-western Argentina) have demanded greater autonomy, recognition of rights and the recovery of land. This has led to sometimes violent conflict with Chilean authorities.
The IACR states that ambiguous terrorism offence legislation meant that ethnic origin and victims' status as Mapuche leaders was taken into account when laying charges, effectively criminalising the social protests of the Mapuche people:
"The Chilean judicial authorities that convicted the victims for terrorist crimes based their decision on a representation of a situation known as the "Mapuche conflict," without making distinctions between the broader context of that indigenous people's legitimate claims characterized by various forms of social protest, and the acts of violence committed by certain minority groups in that context."
The IACR has said this "affected the social structure and cultural integrity of the Mapuche people as a whole." It decided to file the application with the Court after the Chilean government did not comply with the recommendations contained in a 2006 report.
The IACR notes in its press release that the case will set important precedent in a number of areas, including the definition of equality and non-discrimination standards, and developing the law of reparations.