The Title of the Territory of the Creoles of Bluefields and the Great Interoceanic Canal by Nicaragua

Abstract

The article is about the concession of an irregular title, only 7% of the traditional territory claimed by the Indigenous Creole Black Community of Bluefields (the CNCIB) which was entrusted to a parallel government by the President of the Republic on 29th November, 2016, facilitating the Megaproject of the Great Inter-Oceanic Canal through Nicaragua (GCIN), whose itinerary has been planned by the State on the territory of the CNCIB. The article analyzes the beginning of the administrative procedure to vindicate the traditional territory of the CNCIB based on the political and legal background of the their cultural and historical link on their traditional territory, by means of collective property titles granted in 1841, 1906 and 1934. Then discusses how instead of entering into a legal and technical negotiation, the State illegally promotes the creation of a parallel government, and once weakened the traditional institutions, usurps the position of the Creole representative in the National Commission of Demarcation and Certification (CONADETI) and emits the title, leaving the 93% of the free territory for the GCIN. This fact, together with the lack of judicial protection in the 10 actions for legal protection presented by the CNCIB which documented violations of the legal process and the usurpation of its authorities and its self-determination, determined that the CNCIB presents its application to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in accordance with the national and international legislation that also analyzes the article.