Community Protocols as Tools for Collective Action 191
Kachi Yupi in Detail
The resulting protocol is divided into an introduction and three distinct chapters
(Comunidades indígenas de las Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc de Jujuy
y Salta, 2015). The first chapter places consultation and participation processes in
the context of local history. It describes Argentina as a State run by descendants
of colonial power-holders. Those in power are described as responsible for the
continued trend of exploitation of indigenous peoples through taxes and other
means, and to understand this, the history of struggle of the communities must
be recalled. The document thus describes the history of community struggles
against colonial powers, including battles, the forced migration that occurred
with the construction of a railway line in the area, and mining activities that
obliged many to abandon traditional livelihoods. This history of oppression
underlies the fundamental aim of the 33 communities to be recognized and
allowed to enjoy their rights, including through proper consultation and FPIC.
In this vein, as mentioned, the communities are recognized as indigenous and
as pre-dating the existing State. However, the implementation of their rights
deriving from this, ranging from the allocation of their communal land titles to
the right to participate in decision-making, is still at an early stage. The historical
context serves to substantiate the need for the State to ensure a heightened level
of protection in the context of an FPIC process. In addition, the protocol calls
upon the State to ensure both the transparency of the consultation process and
genuine participation by indigenous communities, as well as necessary support
to them.
The second chapter then recalls the rights recognized to indigenous peoples,
placing these firmly in the context of the specific historical experience of the
local communities. In other words, it ties national and international laws that
alone appear technical, abstract and oblivious to local reality, to the communities’ history. In particular, this chapter serves the purpose of articulating the
communities’ views of an ideal consultation and participation process clearly and
in such a way as to assert their rights as recognized in Argentina’s C onstitution
as well as international human rights treaties, declarations and conventions,
particularly ILO Convention 169 and the UNDRIP. The third chapter then
outlines the procedure of consultation and FPIC agreed by the communities.
Importantly, this chapter describes this procedure in a comparison with the natural cycle of salt formation – once again, the more abstract procedure is firmly
tied to the land, history and culture of the communities. A key point in the
procedure described is that salt is not an economic or nutritional good alone, but
a living thing. Thus, the protocol underlines that consultation is (or should be)
a living, dynamic process. It also makes it clear that the basis for any consent is
the compatibility of a project with Buen Vivir, which is “the process of full communal life on our land. It is being one and the same with the communities from
its very roots. To achieve Buen Vivir means knowing how to live and thus how
to live with others” (Comunidades indígenas de las Salinas Grandes y Laguna de
Kachi Yupi in Detail
The resulting protocol is divided into an introduction and three distinct chapters
(Comunidades indígenas de las Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc de Jujuy
y Salta, 2015). The first chapter places consultation and participation processes in
the context of local history. It describes Argentina as a State run by descendants
of colonial power-holders. Those in power are described as responsible for the
continued trend of exploitation of indigenous peoples through taxes and other
means, and to understand this, the history of struggle of the communities must
be recalled. The document thus describes the history of community struggles
against colonial powers, including battles, the forced migration that occurred
with the construction of a railway line in the area, and mining activities that
obliged many to abandon traditional livelihoods. This history of oppression
underlies the fundamental aim of the 33 communities to be recognized and
allowed to enjoy their rights, including through proper consultation and FPIC.
In this vein, as mentioned, the communities are recognized as indigenous and
as pre-dating the existing State. However, the implementation of their rights
deriving from this, ranging from the allocation of their communal land titles to
the right to participate in decision-making, is still at an early stage. The historical
context serves to substantiate the need for the State to ensure a heightened level
of protection in the context of an FPIC process. In addition, the protocol calls
upon the State to ensure both the transparency of the consultation process and
genuine participation by indigenous communities, as well as necessary support
to them.
The second chapter then recalls the rights recognized to indigenous peoples,
placing these firmly in the context of the specific historical experience of the
local communities. In other words, it ties national and international laws that
alone appear technical, abstract and oblivious to local reality, to the communities’ history. In particular, this chapter serves the purpose of articulating the
communities’ views of an ideal consultation and participation process clearly and
in such a way as to assert their rights as recognized in Argentina’s C onstitution
as well as international human rights treaties, declarations and conventions,
particularly ILO Convention 169 and the UNDRIP. The third chapter then
outlines the procedure of consultation and FPIC agreed by the communities.
Importantly, this chapter describes this procedure in a comparison with the natural cycle of salt formation – once again, the more abstract procedure is firmly
tied to the land, history and culture of the communities. A key point in the
procedure described is that salt is not an economic or nutritional good alone, but
a living thing. Thus, the protocol underlines that consultation is (or should be)
a living, dynamic process. It also makes it clear that the basis for any consent is
the compatibility of a project with Buen Vivir, which is “the process of full communal life on our land. It is being one and the same with the communities from
its very roots. To achieve Buen Vivir means knowing how to live and thus how
to live with others” (Comunidades indígenas de las Salinas Grandes y Laguna de