6
8.
The Inter-American Commission has adopted precautionary measures that
have not had the required effects; to the contrary, recent events indicate that the
members of the Kankuamo indigenous people are in gravel peril.
9.
Heretofore, the Court has ordered protection for a group of persons who,
although not previously named, are nonetheless identifiable and whose identity can
be determined, and who are in grave peril by virtue of the fact that they belong to a
given group.2 In the instant case, as the Commission has indicated, the Kankuamo
indigenous people, who number approximately 6,000, are organized into
communities located in a specific geographic area comprising the villages of
Atánquez, Chemesquemena, Guatapurí, Las Flores, Pontón, Mojado, Ramalito,
Rancho de la Goya, Los Háticos, La Mina, Murillo and Rioseco, on the southeastern
slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The territory of the Kankuamo
indigenous people spans portions of the departments of Magdalena, Guajira and
Cesar. Its members can be identified and named. Living in those Kankuamo
villages, all are in the same danger of becoming the victims of acts of aggression
against their lives and the integrity of their person and of being forcibly displaced
from their territory.3 This Court therefore deems it necessary to order provisional
measures of protection on behalf of all members of the villages belonging to the
Kankuamo indigenous people.
10.
The situation that the Kankuamo indigenous people are experiencing, as
described by the Commission, has curtailed their freedom of movement and has
forced them to move to other regions. The State must, therefore, ensure that the
beneficiaries of these measures are able to continue living in their habitual place of
residence; it must also provide those who have been displaced from their people’s
land with the means necessary to return to their homes.4
11.
To effectively ensure the rights recognized in the American Convention, the
State Party has an obligation, erga omnes, to protect all persons subject to its
jurisdiction.
As this Court has previously held, this means that this general
obligation applies not only with respect to the power of the State but also with
respect to actions by third parties, including groups of armed irregulars of any kind.
The Court observes that given the characteristics of the instant case, provisional
measures are needed to protect all members of the Kankuamo indigenous people, in
2
Cf., inter alia, Matter of The Communities of Jiguamiandó and Curbaradó. Provisional Measures.
Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of March 6, 2003, ‘Considering’ nine; Matter of the
Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of June 18, 2002, ‘Considering’ eight; Matter of the Peace Community of San José de
Apartadó. Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of November 24,
2000, ‘Considering’ seven. See, also, Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community. Judgment of
August 31, 2001. Series C No. 79, paragraphs 148, 149 and 153.
3
Cf. Matter of The Communities of the Jiguamiandó and of the Curbaradó. Provisional Measures.
Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of March 6, 2003, ‘Considering’ nine.
4
Cf. Matter of The Communities of the Jiguamiandó and of the Curbaradó. Provisional Measures.
Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of March 6, 2003, ‘Considering’ ten; Matter of the
Peace Community of San José de Apartadó. Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of November 24, 2000, ‘Considering’ eight; and Matter of Giraldo-Cardona. Provisional
Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of February 5, 1997, ‘Considering’ five.
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