Indigenous Communities of the Lhaka Honhat Association (Our Land) v. Argentina

In its first judgment to independently analyze the human right to a healthy environment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held Argentina responsible for violating Indigenous communities’ human rights through its failure to recognize and protect their lands.

The Court considered allegations by Indigenous communities in the province of Salta that the State had failed to implement measures to stop illegal logging and other harmful activities in their territory, which had altered their Indigenous way of life and damaged their cultural identity. This case builds on the Court’s 2017 advisory opinion, in which the Court recognized the “autonomous” right to a healthy environment under the Article 26 (the progressive realization principle) of the American Convention on Human Rights, noting that the right to a healthy environment should not only be considered a component of other substantive human rights.

The judgment also found Argentina responsible for violations of the rights to community property, cultural identity, and adequate food and water. Among other reparations, the Court ordered Argentina to clear the communities’ ancestral lands of settlers and cattle within six years and give the communities the deed.

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