Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Terms of Legal Pluralism and Interculturality

Abstract

Objective: to determine and understand the international normative developments of Human Rights instruments in indigenous peoples, according to the focus of legal pluralism and interculturality.

Methodology: documentary research with a qualitative approach. International instruments and specialized literature were consulted according to the core categories of the text, namely: human rights, indigenous peoples, legal pluralism and interculturality.

Results: existence of a profuse conventional development in Human Rights on indigenous peoples. It was also shown that, despite the broad legal protection in the field of international law, the Colombian State's commitment to refrain from voting or formulating objections to different instruments is limited. It was found, moreover, that international norms on indigenous peoples tend to expand the core of protection progressively by contemplating not only respect and the guarantee of individual and collective material rights, but also spiritual and epistemic rights that are vital for these peoples.

Conclusions: the international instruments on the human rights of indigenous peoples, during the 21st century have transcended assimilationist and integrationist focuses towards legal pluralism; However, this focus is still in default of overcoming the influence of legal monism to recognize, in addition to the mere existence of other legal-cultural systems, such as those of indigenous peoples, its true value to revitalize sociopolitical and legal struggles by the dignity and autonomy of other plural systems that take place in the Rule of Law in America.