Keynote address
Julio Faundez (University of Warwick, UK)
Can Constitutional reform empower indigenous communities in Latin America?
Indigenous communities in Latin America have, traditionally, been the most neglected and discriminated groups.In recent years, however, most countries in the region have responded to the growing political demands of these communities by enacting constitutional amendments that recognise indigenous peoples as distinct groups with specific rights, including the right to govern themselves in accordance with their own traditional laws. In my presentation I will focus on the right of indigenous communities to administer justice applying their own normative and cultural standards. Its objective is to assess the impact of the new constitutional provisions on indigenous communities and to identify the persistent and formidable obstacles that indigenous communities face in their attempts to secure full and effective recognition and respect of their individual and collective rights.
