75 336. Thus the State was obliged to comply with all these provisions before and during the displacement of the Afro-descendant children of Cacarica. However, from the findings of fact it is apparent that many children were in a state of severe malnutrition due to a lack of food, water and other basic services, and that they suffered illness as a result of these living conditions. In this respect, the Ombudsman's census taken in the Turbo dwellings in November 1997 recorded more than 2,000 minors, who were not enjoying either adequate nutrition or sanitation programs given the area's lack of sanitary 362 conditions. There is no information on access to educational programs. 337. The Commission observes that the effects of the state of displacement and its consequences on these children constitutes a violation of their rights. In view of the fact that the State failed to adopt measures to prevent the displacement of these children, and to adopt special and individualized measures to protect them and attend to their special needs during the displacement, given 363 their state of great vulnerability, and the differenciated impact caused by forced displacement, the Commission concludes that the State is responsible for the violation of Article 22 of the American Convention in relation to Article 19, to the prejudice of the displaced child members of the Cacarica communities associated with CAVIDA and the children of the women living in Turbo. The Forced Displacement and its Effect on the Property of the Displaced Persons 338. From the findings of fact it is apparent that the Afro-descendant communities displaced from the Cacarica basin were the victims of bombardments, ransacking and destruction of their homes. These communities were displaced from their territory, and prevented from enjoying their property, lands and the resources of traditional use found there. 339. Article 21 of the American Convention establishes that 1. Everyone has the right to the use and enjoyment of his property. The law may subordinate such use and enjoyment to the interest of society. 2. No one shall be deprived of his property except upon payment of just compensation, for reasons of public utility or social interest, and in the cases and according to the forms established by law. 340. The Inter-American Court has established that among the indigenous peoples there is a communitarian tradition of communal collective ownership of the land, in the sense that ownership is not centered on any one individual but on the group and the community. In this regard, it has established that Indigenous groups, by the fact of their very existence, have the right to live freely in their own territory; the close ties of indigenous people with the land must be recognized and understood as the fundamental basis of their cultures, their spiritual life, their integrity, and their economic survival. For indigenous communities, relations to the land are not merely a matter of possession and production but a material and spiritual element which they must fully enjoy, even to preserve their 364 cultural legacy and transmit it to future generations. 341. When applying Article 29 of the American Convention to cases relating to indigenous peoples and tribes, the IACHR has established that the Convention must be interpreted to include 362 Annex 15. IACHR. Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Colombia, Ch.IV. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.102 Doc. 9 rev. 1, February 26, 1999, para. 31. At: http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Colom99en/table%20of%20contents.htm. 363 I/A Court H.R. Case of “the Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al.) v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections. Judgment of September 11, 1997. Series C No. 32, para. 191. 364 I/A Court H.R.; Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingini Community, Judgment of August 31, 2001. Series C No. 79, para. 149. Cf. Case of Ivcher Bronstein, Judgment of February 6, 2001. Series C No. 74, para. 168; Case of the Constitutional Court, Judgment of January 31, 2001. Series C No. 71, para. 109; and Case of Bámaca Velásquez, Judgment of November 25, 2000. Series C No. 70, para. 210.