Legal pluralism, indigenous rights and the Inter-American corpus iuris

Abstract

The permeability between state, regional and universal legal systems for the protection of human rights is increasingly evident, materialising a trend of legal pluralism in a multilevel universe of human rights protection. Therefore, it is important to interpret the norms contained in national constitutions and international treaties – that is, the different systems for the protection of human rights – in light of the pro persona principle. In this context, the indigenous issue stands out for its complexity and urgent safeguard, given the past and current scenarios of numerous violations. The indigenous cosmovision must permeate any application of the mechanisms for protecting the human rights of indigenous peoples. In order to better understand this pluralism from the perspective of safeguarding indigenous rights, a brief study was carried out on the constitutionalization of these rights in Latin America and their interpretation in the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights. The question is: what are the main indigenous rights contained in Latin American constitutions? How does the Inter-American system interpret these rights in light of the American Declaration and Convention? What are the protective standards for indigenous rights in the region? For that, the method of approach used was the deductive one and the methodological procedures were in the juridical and systematic dogmatic study. As a result of this research, it was found that there is an entire Inter-American corpus iuris that must be protected, based on the duty of harmonisation imposed by the American Convention, and carried out through the control of conventionality