the rule most favorable to the individual.”215 The specific criteria for which discrimination is prohibited in this article are not a taxative or exclusive list, but merely declarative. The wording of this article “leaves the criteria open-ended with the inclusion of the expression ‘any other social condition,’ to incorporate other categories that had not been explicitly indicated.”216 203. Several international treaties expressly prohibit discrimination based on ethnic origin.217 Moreover, other international instruments reaffirm that indigenous peoples should not be subjected to any form of discrimination.218 204. The Court takes into account that ethnic group refers to communities of individuals who share, among other aspects, characteristics of a socio-cultural nature, such as cultural, linguistic, spiritual affinities and historical and traditional origins. The indigenous peoples fall within this category, and the Court has recognized that they have specific characteristics that constitute their cultural identity,219 such as their customary law, their economic and social characteristics, and their values, practices and customs.220 205. In Chile, the Mapuche indigenous people are recognized as an indigenous ethnic group under article 1 of Law No. 19,253 (“Indigenous Peoples’ Act”), promulgated in September 1993 (supra para. 88), which establishes that: The State recognizes that the indigenous peoples of Chile are the descendants of the groups of humans who have lived on national territory since pre-Colombian times, who conserve their own cultural and ethnic characteristics and for whom the land is the bedrock of their existence and culture. The State recognizes as the main indigenous ethnic groups of Chile: the Mapuche, Aimará, Rapa Nui or Easter Islanders, that of the Atacaman, Quechuas and Collas communities in the northern part of the country, and the Kawashkar or Alacalufe and Yámana or Yagán communities in the austral fjords. The State values their existence, because they are an essential element of the origins of the Chilean nation, as well as their integrity and development, in accordance with their customs and values. 215 Cf. Compulsory Membership in an Association Prescribed by Law for the Practice of Journalism (Arts. 13 and 29 American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-5/85 of November 13, 1985. Series A No. 5, para. 52, and Case of Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile, para. 84. 216 Cf. Case of Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile, para. 85. 217 For example, article 2 of the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination establishes the obligation of the States parties “to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions” and, in its article 1, determines that “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.” Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes that States “shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status,” thus including the category of “race” separately from “national, ethnic or social origin.” Article 1 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families stipulates that “[t]he [said] Convention is applicable, except as otherwise provided hereafter, to all migrant workers and members of their families without distinction of any kind such as sex, race, colour, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status.” 218 The fifth paragraph of the preamble to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reaffirms “that indigenous peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind” and, in article 2, stipulates that “indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.” Cf. UN Doc. A/RES/61/295, 13 September 2007, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Resolution 61/295 of the General Assembly of the United Nations. 219 Cf. Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, para. 51, and Case of the Afro-descendant Communities Displaced from the Río Cacarica Basin (Operation Genesis) v. Colombia, para. 354. 220 Cf. Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, para. 63, and Case of the Afro-descendant Communities Displaced from the Río Cacarica Basin (Operation Genesis) v. Colombia, para. 354. 71