identity, exercise certain rights recognized by the Convention from a collective dimension,”
among them the right to land ownership, 125 but also the right to freedom of expression, as
mentioned above. The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of the International Labour
Organization (hereinafter “Convention 169” or “ILO Convention 169”) 126 and the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (hereinafter “UNDRIP”) 127 recognize
indigenous people as holders of human rights. The American Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (hereinafter “ADRIP”), 128 in Articles VI and IX, respectively, establishes the
State’s duty to recognize “the right of indigenous peoples to act collectively,” and “the juridical
personality of indigenous peoples, respecting indigenous forms of organization and promoting
the full exercise of the rights recognized in this Declaration.” 129
95.
From the above perspective, the Court considers that indigenous peoples have the right
to establish and use their own media, based on the content and scope of the right to freedom
of expression previously mentioned, but also taking into account the rights of indigenous
peoples to non-discrimination, self-determination and to their cultural rights.
96.
In this regard, Convention 169 states the following:
1. Governments shall adopt measures appropriate to the traditions and cultures of the peoples
concerned, to make known to them their rights and duties, especially in regard to labour, economic
opportunities, education and health matters, social welfare and their rights deriving from this
Convention.
2. If necessary, this shall be done by means of written translations and through the use of mass
communications in the languages of these peoples. 130
97.
In turn, UNDRIP establishes that:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages and to
have access to all forms of non-indigenous media without discrimination;
2. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous
cultural diversity. States, without prejudice to ensuring full freedom of expression, should
encourage privately owned media to adequately reflect indigenous cultural diversity. 131
98.
Similarly, according to the ADRIP:
1. Indigenous peoples have the right to preserve, use, develop, revitalize, and transmit to future
generations their own histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, systems of knowledge,
writing, and literature, and to designate and retain their own names for their communities,
individuals, and places.
2. States shall adopt adequate and effective measures to protect the exercise of this right with the
full and effective participation of indigenous peoples.
3. Indigenous peoples have the right to promote and develop all their systems and means of
communication, including their own radio and television programs, and to have equal access to all
other means of communication and information. States shall take measures to promote the
broadcast of radio and television programs in indigenous languages, particularly in areas with an
indigenous presence. States shall support and facilitate the creation of indigenous radio and
television stations, as well as other means of information and communication.
Cf. Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua. Merits, reparations and costs.
Judgment of August 31, 2001. Series C No. 79, para. 149; Case of the Kichwa Indigenous People of Sarayaku v.
Ecuador. Merits and reparations. Judgment of June 27, 2012. Series C No. 245, paras. 145 and 231, and Advisory
Opinion OC-22/16, supra, para. 75.
126
Guatemala ratified ILO Convention 169 on June 5, 1996.
127
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted on June 26, 2006. Available at:
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wpcontent/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIPS_web.pdf
128
Cf. American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted on June 14, 2016.
129
Cf. Case of the Indigenous Communities of the Lhaka Honhat (Our Land) Association v. Argentina. Merits,
reparations and costs, supra, para. 154.
130
Cf. Article 30 of ILO Convention 169.
131
Article 16 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
125
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