A/HRC/21/47/Add.2
13.
At the legislative and administrative levels, Act No. 23302 of 1985 on the protection
of indigenous communities established INAI, which is responsible for designing and
implementing policies to benefit indigenous peoples. The Act and its implementing
regulations recognize the legal status of indigenous communities and stipulate that this
status is acquired by means of registration in the National Registry of Indigenous
Communities. INAI is responsible for maintaining this registry and for coordinating with
provinces that maintain their own registries of indigenous communities. In 2004, INAI
established the Indigenous Participation Council as a means of involving indigenous
peoples in the development and implementation of its programmes and policies, including
those on land surveys and social services.
14.
In 2006, in the light of repeated land conflicts between the supposed owners of
private property and indigenous communities in various parts of the country, Congress
enacted Act No. 26160. The Act suspended evictions of indigenous communities for four
years, and charged INAI with the task of conducting a “technical-legal cadastral survey of
the situation regarding ownership of the land occupied by indigenous communities” (art. 3).
Act No. 26554 of 2009 extended the time limit set out in Act No. 26160 for another four
years, until 2013.
15.
The National Education Act (No. 26206) of 2006 establishes intercultural bilingual
education in order to guarantee the constitutional right of indigenous peoples to an
education that promotes indigenous cultures and languages. Act No. 25517 of 2001
provides for the return of the mortal remains of indigenous persons held in museums or in
public or private collections to indigenous communities that claim them. Act No. 26522 of
2010 on Audiovisual Communication Services recognizes the right of indigenous peoples
to identity-based communication, providing in particular for the establishment of radio
stations within indigenous communities. INAI is the State body responsible for
implementing these laws.
16.
INAI is not the only institution relevant to indigenous peoples. The Office of the
Secretary for Human Rights promotes human rights protection through the National
Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, and the Ombudsman, an
autonomous institution, has paid special attention to the issue of indigenous peoples,
visiting them in person to observe their living conditions and seeking resolutions to
conflicts involving indigenous claims.
17.
In an effort to strengthen the national legal framework, Argentina has ratified several
international treaties that are of relevance to indigenous peoples, in particular ILO
Convention No. 169, which it ratified in 2000. Argentina also voted in support of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when it was adopted by
the General Assembly in 2007.
B.
Provincial laws
18.
Within the federal structure established by article 75, paragraph 17, of the
Constitution, Congress has the authority to pass the laws necessary for the minimum
protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, while the provinces can enact supplementary
norms offering greater protection in this regard. Because the constitutional reforms
concerning indigenous peoples are relatively recent, many aspects of the division of powers
between the federal and provincial governments are still being worked out.
the Environment and Sustainable Development, amparo appeal (8 September 2003).
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