LOS SENTIDOS DE LA ESPIRITUALIDAD INDÍGENA Y SU APLICACIÓN POR LA CORTE INTERAMERICANA DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Abstract

Spirituality does not only play a central role in determining a place as indigenous territory, but also in the daily lives of indigenous communities. Practices considered trivial by Western cultures are imbued with spiritual and often sacred meaning for these communities. Furthermore, certain conduct, such as the removal of a community or the prohibition of access to a sacred or fishing site, constitutes spiritual harm that can also result in violation of various human rights. Seeking to approach a concept for indigenous spirituality and identifying how International Law deals with this issue, this article analyzes how the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights treats damage to spirituality as a form of violation of different human rights provided for in the American Convention . Recognizing the cognitive limitations of those who do not live the culture they intend to understand, the authors of this article rely on a bibliographical review to approach the concept of spirituality and, in addition, on a documentary review to analyze the legal treatment of the topic and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court. The article concludes that, when it comes to indigenous peoples, the Inter-American Court takes into account the spiritual component of several Convention rights and, at times, considers that damage to spirituality constitutes a violation of certain rights. On the other hand, the Court did not recognize spirituality as an autonomous indigenous human right, although there is room to go further.