Afrodescendant Tribal People of Chile Face State at Inter-American Court

Mabel López Castillo, leader of the Afrodescendant Tribal People of the Azapa Valley, presented genealogical testimony before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on September 24, seeking reparations for historical exclusion and lack of legal recognition by the Chilean state. The case challenges Chile's failure to recognize Afrodescendant communities as tribal peoples, a first such hearing before the court. The outcome could set precedent for Afrodescendant rights across Latin America.