Land and Natural Resources

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Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, 276/2003

In the 1970s, the Kenyan government evicted hundreds of Endorois families from their land around the Lake Bogoria area in the Rift Valley to create a game reserve for tourism. The Endorois, an indigenous people, had been promised compensation and benefits, but these were never fully implemented, and the community's access to the land was restricted to the discretion of the Game Reserve Authority. This prevented the community from practicing their pastoralist way of life, using ceremonial and religious sites, and accessing traditional medicines.

John Doe I, et al., v. UNOCAL Corp., et al., 395 F.3d 932 (9 Cir. 2002)

During Unocal's construction of an oil pipeline in Myanmar, it hired Myanmar's military for security while the pipeline was built. The villagers in the area where the pipeline was being constructed alleged the military forcefully evicted them, forced them to work on the project and raped, murdered and tortured them.

Asociación de Comunidades Aborígenes Lhaka Honhat. Caso Nº 12.094. [ENG]

In 1998, the Aboriginal Communities Association Lhaka Honat filed an action with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the State of Argentina. The communities living in Salta province denounced violations of their right to ancestral land, to cultural integrity and to a safe environment, following the State’s decision to build an international bridge and carry out an urban development plan in their territory, which would significantly alter their way of life.

U´wa Indigenous Community / Precautionary Measures. Case Nº 11.754. [ENG]

The Ombudsman filed a protection action against the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sociedad Occidental de Colombia Inc. on behalf of the U'wa People, seeking revocation of an oil development license granted to the said company affecting traditional indigenous land (see in this database “Defensor del Pueblo, doctor Jaime Córdoba Triviño (on behalf of several members of U'WA Indigenous Group) vs. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y Occidental de Colombia, Inc. s. Acción de tutela”). The Colombian court ordered a consultation should take place within 30 days.

Comunidad Yanomami. Caso Nº 7615. Resolución Nº 12/85. [ENG]

A petition was filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the State of Brazil and in favor of the Yanomami indigenous community.

Defensor del Pueblo, doctor Jaime Córdoba Triviño (en representación de varias personas integrantes del Grupo Etnico Indígena U'WA) c/ Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y Occidental de Colombia, Inc. s. Acción de tutela. [ENG]

The Ombudsman filed an amparo action against the Ministry of Environment and Sociedad Occidental de Colombia Inc. on behalf of the U'wa people. The presentation sought the revocation of a license granted to the said company to develop an oil project in indigenous lands, alleging the communities potentially affected by the decision had not been duly consulted before the license had been granted.

Federación Independiente del Pueblo Shuar del Ecuador (FIPSE) c. Arco Oriente s/ Amparo [ENG]

On April 27, 1998, oil company Arco Oriente Inc. signed an hydrocarbon development agreement with Ecuador. Although 70% of the land belonging to Federación Independiente del Pueblo Shuar del Ecuador (FIPSE) was within the area to be devoted to the project, its members were not notified of the terms of the agreement or the related environmental impact. FIPSE, in a Special Meeting of its members, decided to prohibit all individual negotiations or agreements by FIPSE Member Centers or Associations with the company. This was notified to both the State and the company.

Mercedes Julia Huenteao Beroiza et al. Petition 4617/02. Report Nº 30/04 [ENG]

The Mapuche Pehuenche people of the Upper Bío Bío sector, in the Eighth Region of Chile, started a long fight to defend their rights when the Government of Chile authorized the construction of hydroelectric plants that would have deep consequences on their ancestral land and culture.

Case of the Indigenous Community Yakye Axa v. Paraguay [ENG]

The Yakye Axa community, a Paraguayan indigenous community belonging to the Lengua Enxet Sur people, filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) alleging Paraguay had failed to acknowledge its right to property over ancestral land. Given its impossibility to solve the case, the Commission referred it to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua [ENG]

The Mayagna Awas (Sumo) Tingni Community lives in the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and is made up of approximately 142 families. Jaime Castillo Felipe, a leader of the community, lodged a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) denouncing the State of Nicaragua for failing to demarcate the Awas Tingni Community's communal land and to take the necessary measures to protect the Community's property rights over its ancestral lands and natural resources.