16 coastal area, covering the Departments of Cortés, Atlántida, Colón, and Gracias a Dios; additionally, a growing number of Garífunas live in cities such as La Ceiba, Tela, Cortés, Trujillo, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa.37 48. The Garífuna people are a differentiated culture and ethnical group, resulting from a mix between indigenous and Africans, who have defended their rights in Honduras as an indigenous group.38 The Garífunas identify themselves as an indigenous group that has inherited the insular Caribbean, with some cultural manifestations of African origin, being selfidentification a subjective criterion and one of the main determining criteria included in Article 1(2) of Convention 169 of the ILO, in order to be considered indigenous or tribal peoples. 39 49. Similarly, Article 1(1) of Convention 169 of the ILO establishes objective criteria 40 to describe the peoples it seeks to protect. In this sense, the identity of the Garífuna people is reinforced by its own language, which “belongs to the family of Arawak languages” and by its traditional forms of organization revolving around cultural manifestations, such as dancing and music, which play an important role in the oral transmission of their history and traditions.41 50. The Garífunas have a special relationship with the land, natural resources, the forest, the beach, and the sea. The latter, besides having a fundamental value for their survival, are Cfr. World Bank Inspection Panel, Research Report on the Honduras program for the Administration of Lands, Report N° 39933-HN, of June 12, 2007 (evidence file, folio 157), in reference to 38 communities, and Ethnical poverty in Honduras, Utta von Gleich and Ernesto Gálvez. Unit of Indigenous People and Community Development. Inter-American Development Bank, Department of Sustainable Development, September 1999, p. 2, 36, referenced in the Merits Report (merits file, folio 18), in reference to 40 settlements, 36 of them in their majority Garífuna; Subcommission for the promotion and protection of human rights. Work Group on Minorities, 10th session, March 2004, referenced in the Merits Report (merits file, folio 18), in reference to 46 communities. 37 38 Cfr. Merits Report (merits file, folio 60); Brief of Pleadings and Motions (merits file, folio 195). Article 1(2) of Convention 169 of the ILO defines the subjective criterion of self-identification, according to which “[s]elf-identification as indigenous or tribal shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention apply,” International Labor Organization (ILO), Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, adopted on June 27, 1989 and in force since September 5, 1991. Similarly, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in its Article 33(1) states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions,” A/Res/61/295, September 13, 2007, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. 39 There are several criteria that help understand what “indigenous peoples” or “tribal peoples” means. Article 1(1) of Convention 169 of the ILO provides certain objective criteria, stating it will apply to “a) tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural, and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations; b) peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations that inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their social, economic, cultural, and political institutions.” International Labor Organization (ILO), “The Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Practice – A guide to ILO Convention No. 169,” Department of International Labor Regulations 2009, p. 9-10. Additionally, to the effect of identifying indigenous people one must consider their traditional lifestyles; their culture and lifestyle different to those of other segments of the national population (forms of survival, language, customs, among others); their social organization and their own political institutions, and living in historical continuity in a specific area, or before it was “invaded” by others or others came to the area. Cfr. International Labor Organization. Convention No. 169, “The Basic Principles of ILO Convention 169 – Identification of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples.” 40 “The Garífuna language belongs to the family of Arawak languages and it has survived centuries of persecution and linguistic domination. They have a great wealth of úragas, tales that were narrated during evening events or large meetings. The melodies bring together African and Native American elements, and the texts are a true reservoir of history and the traditional knowledge of the Garífunas regarding the cultivation of mandioca, fishing, manufacturing of canoes, and the construction of homes made of fired clay. There is also a strong satirical in the songs that are sung to the rhythm of drums and they are accompanied of dances in which the spectators participate.” UNESCO, Immaterial Cultural Heritage, “The language, dances, and music of the Garífunas,” referenced in the Merits Report (merits file, folio 20). 41