Direito em Movimento - Volume 16 - Número 2 - 2º semestre/2018

75 Direito em Movimento, Rio de Janeiro, v. 16 - n. 2, p. 72-105, 2º sem. 2018 ARTIGOS Alongside these international instruments, the Inter-American Sys- tem adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948), and this, one can say, has been a source of inspiration for other instruments destined towards the protection of human rights, especially indigenous rights. The reception of tribal communities’ demands, in the context of hu- man rights, has occurred through the action of their own organizations, ever more conscious of their rights. Even more important has been the assistance of international organs such as the ILO, in its Convention 169 of 1989, and the UN, in its Declaration on Indigenous Peoples, ratified in 2007. Other agreements, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, even though not speci- fically directed towards native peoples, have had a relevant role in affirming and guaranteeing their rights. In this scenario, the Inter-American Court contributed significantly to the general theory of international law through its decisions – in their binding to member States – on the protection of human rights, especially those decisions which are contrary to the discrimination and marginaliza- tion of indigenous peoples, at the same time in recognition of their right to self-determination, their own territory and to the natural resources which exist there. In international juridical literature there are few studies related to in- digenous peoples in the context of the Inter-American System of Protec- tion for Human Rights. This is rather unjust because the analysis of the experience of the Inter-American judicial institution and its jurisprudence – above all in that which pertains to principles – can be useful to the Euro- pean and African Tribunals in the protection of minorities. Accordingly, this article plans to work with the theoretical and practi- cal problems associated with indigenous rights in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court through the analysis of the leading case of the Awas Tingni tribal community vs. Nicaragua 1 . An important precedent, it invol- ves the right to collective property on traditionally occupied lands. 1 Sentence delivered on August 31, 2001.