THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF THE RAPA NUI PEOPLE: THE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION AND TERRITORIAL RIGHTS.

Abstract

One of the most serious violations of the rights of the Rapa Nui, which continues to date, is the usurpation of their territory, through the registration of the entire Easter Island in the name of the state of Chile (1933), epoch in which the Rapa Nui were considered stateless and lacked all civil and political rights. The registration was made in the Real Estate Curator of Valparaíso, a continental city located more than 4,000 kilometers from the island, excluding any possibility of opposition, using as an argument that the land would lack an owner. As of the “Easter Law” (Ley 19.253 DO 05.10.93), citizenship rights and other benefits are recognized for the Rapa Nui, which is reinforced with subsequent legislation such as the “Indigenous Law” at the beginning of the 90s that grants special rights to the Rapa Nui, and the ratification of ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. In practice, the legislation has not resulted in the return of the land and respect for the territorial rights and self-determination of the Rapa Nui. The human rights situation of the Rapa Nui People and their demands, with special mention to territorial rights and self-determination, is of utmost importance, as well as the demand for effective political participation and control over their political institutions through the establishment of a “special statute”, a form
of Migration Control and a special reference to efforts to achieve compliance with the right to prior consultation with indigenous peoples; the  Antecedents with respect to their collective demand to recover their ancestral territory, for the respect of their right to self-determination in accordance with International law and for the full recognition of the Agreement of Will of 1888. The situation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Chile in general
stands out for the lack of constitutional recognition, the inexistence of an official mechanism for prior consultation in the event of measures likely to affect them directly or ensure their political participation, and the lack of clear measures for the implementation of ILO Convention 169 in force in Chile since September 2009. To date, there is no such constitutional recognition, which will arise with the constitutional reform, which we are currently witnessing.