i. ii. a) Alleged discriminatory and selective application of the Counter-terrorism Act to members of the Mapuche indigenous people, and Alleged use of stereotypes and social prejudices in the domestic criminal judgments. General considerations a.i) The principle of equality and non-discrimination and the right to equal protection of the law 196. As already indicated, Article 1(1) of the Convention establishes that the States Parties “undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition.” Meanwhile, Article 24 stipulates that “[a]ll persons are equal before the law. Consequently, they are entitled, without discrimination, to equal protection of the law” (supra paras. 184 and 185). 197. Regarding the principle of equality before the law and non-discrimination, the Court has indicated that “the notion of equality springs directly from the oneness of the human family, and is linked to the essential dignity of the individual.” Thus, any situation is incompatible with this concept that, by considering one group superior to another group, leads to treating it in a privileged way; or, inversely, by considering a given group to be inferior, treats it with hostility or otherwise subjects it to discrimination in the enjoyment of rights that are accorded to those who are not so classified.202 The Court’s case law has also indicated that, at the current stage of the evolution of international law, the fundamental principle of equality and non-discrimination has entered the sphere of jus cogens. It constitutes the foundation for the legal framework of national and international public order and permeate the whole legal system.203 198. Regarding the concept of discrimination, the definitions contained in Article 1(1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination204 and Article 1(1) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 205 lead to the conclusion that discrimination is any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on the prohibited reasons which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field.206 202 Cf. Proposed Amendment to the Naturalization Provisions of the Constitution of Costa Rica. Advisory Opinion OC4/84 of January 19, 1984. Series A No. 4, para. 55, and Case of Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of February 24, 2012. Series C No. 239, para. 79. 203 Cf. Juridical Status and Rights of Undocumented Migrants. Advisory Opinion OC-18/03 of September 17, 2003. Series A No. 18, para. 101, Case of the Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community. v. Paraguay, para. 269, and Case of Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile, para. 79. 204 Article 1(1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination establishes that: “[i]n this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” 205 Article 1(1) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women establishes that: “[f]or the purposes of the present Convention, the term “discrimination against women” shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” 206 This definition is similar to the one established by the Human Rights Committee, which has defined discrimination as: “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference which is based on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and which has the purpose 69