[Furthermore, in Article 5 of this Convention, the States parties undertake] “to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice; (b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution […] 153. With regard to indigenous peoples’ right to equality and non-discrimination, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides that: Article 2. 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 theexercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin oridentity. Article 9. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right. 154. Article 3(1) of ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribunal Peoples in Independent Countries, which Guatemala ratified in 1996, provides that “[i]ndigenous and tribal peoples shall enjoy the full measure of human rights and fundamental freedoms without hindrance or discrimination.” The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called upon the States to “[e]nsure that members of indigenous peoples are free and equal in dignity and rights and free from any discrimination, in particular that based on indigenous origin or identity.”225 155. In the context of the armed context in Guatemala, the Commission considers that because of the racism and structural exclusion226 the Maya people were the most cruelly affected sector of the Guatemalan population. It is the Commission’s view that racial discrimination was the basis both of the State policy of stigmatizing and then exterminating the Maya people. It also explains the brutality with which the massacres and persecution were conducted, the enslavement of some surviving children and the authorities’ subsequent failure to react to these events.227 156. In the instant case, the Commission considers that the residents of the Community 'Aurora 8 de Octubre' were indigenous who were forced to take refuge in Mexico as a result of the armed conflict, which was characterized by severe and multiple violations against the life and integrity of the Mayan people. As indicated in the section on proven facts, members of the Community survived the massacres and acts of violence in their native communities before taking refuge in Mexico. Subsequently, these people returned to Guatemala and formed the Community 'Aurora 8 de Octubre' in the framework of the return agreements signed by the State. 157. The Commission considers that the behavior of the troops in the Community on the day of the events was based on the context of the conflict; the tensions generated by their presence reflected the policies and practices of it directed against indigenous communities. Moreover, the response of the 225 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No. 23, The Rights of Indigenous Peoples, August 18, 1997, par. 4(b). 226 The IACHR has previously noted that “indigenous people in Guatemala have been historically discriminated against due to ethnic reasons.” IACHR, Justice and Social Inclusion: The challenges of democracy in Guatemala, December 29, 2003, par.210. See, also: IACHR, Fifth Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala, April 6, 2001. 227 IACHR, Report No. 86/10, Case 12,649, Merits, Community of Río Negro of the Maya Achí People and Its Members, Guatemala, July 14, 2000, par.357. 34