10 situation of extreme poverty entails a systematic denial of the possibility of enjoying the inherent rights of the human person. 22 The Yakye Axa Community certainly suffers extreme poverty, as the testimony of witnesses and expert witnesses shows. 23 29. Interventions by the State must prevent, attenuate, and overcome risks such as malnutrition, prevalence of anemia, morbidity and mortality, creating basic conditions in terms of health care, adequate nutrition, education, occupational training, and income generation. Protective factors that must be guaranteed by the State, including medical services, conditions for self-production of food, and integration into community networks that ensure essential self-sufficiency, require basic conditions regarding settlement of the indigenous community members that are the target group of the services; the size of the group must enable social/communal self-sufficiency, and quality of the land must be adequate to prevent, attenuate, and overcome the risks. 30. Said interventions must take into account that, pursuant to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993), at the World Conference on Human Rights, all human rights are universal, indivisible, and interdependent, and interrelated. 24 I believe that, in light of these principles, it is not a matter of protecting one of the human rights embodied in the Inter-American System to the detriment of another or other such rights, or of protecting some complainants in a way that leads to violation of these rights of others also protected by the Convention. In this framework, we must deem it axiomatic that no assistance provided to small groups that are dispersed and/or settled on precarious lands can create conditions that ensure a decent existence. 25 31. Insisting on supplying food to the members of indigenous communities, with no ending date and without meeting the conditions stated in the previous paragraph, can lead to an unwanted end by creating dependency and weakening their own social protection mechanisms. It is also necessary to take into account that access to appropriate land is a necessary condition, but not sufficient, to create conditions that ensure a decent life. 26 In this regard, it is necessary to avoid using most of the existing financial resources to purchase land or pay compensation for land expropriation. 32. The State’s duty to adopt positive measures to protect the right to life, even if this involves aid to the vulnerable population groups in a situation of extreme 22 E/CN.4/ Sub 2/2004/44. 23 Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community, Public Hearing held on March 3 and 4, 2005 at the Seat of the Court. The principle of indivisibility establishes that improvements regarding one human right cannot be obtained in a manner that is detrimental to another, while the principle of interdependence asserts that improvements in realization of any human right depend on realization of all, or at least of several. E/CN.4/ Sub 2/2004/25. 24 Law 904/81 establishes that indigenous groups that have separated from their communities and regroup must have at least 20 families. 25 26 It is necessary to take into account that in fact there are already indigenous communities that despite access to land that is adequate in terms o quality and size are in a situation of extreme poverty due to lack of adequate intervention.

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