Indigenous territorial rights as a human right; an analysis of the (auto) demarcation of indigenous territories process in Venezuela (1999-2014)

Abstract

The 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (CBRV) recognizes Indigenous Rights; among them, the territorial claims. In agreement with what is stated in the article 119 of the Magna Carta, the right to the territory of these populations is exercised through the public policy of demarcation, which is understood as the process in which its territorial space is disclaimed, made by the State in participation with the peoples and communities to be demarcated, subsequently to entitle the collective ownership for these human beings groups. Fifteen years after the Constitution was approved, this process of delineation has been slow and misleading. This delay has caused that in the present, these human beings groups are being stalked by outside interests (illegal mining, development projects, irregular forces, among others) who threaten their existence as distinct cultures; since the right to territory is a fundamental human right for their survival. This article is the result of a field research. In the first part, the study analyzes the Organic Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities (LOPCI) (2005) in Venezuela, with the purpose of clarifying at what stage the territorial demarcation process is paralyzed; and as a result, it describes how many communities and indigenous peoples have been demarcated and entitled from 2005 to 2014.

Keywords

• indigenous peoples
• land rights
• human rights
• territorial demarcation