Cosmopolitan norms and the enforcement of human rights: an analysis of the case of the Xukuru People v. Brazil before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This article analyzes the judicial decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the right of indigenous peoples to collective property in the case of Xukuru v Brazil. To do so, it identifies transnational protection of these rights in the democratic paradigm, and the communication flows between the Judgment and the jurisprudence of the Brazilian Supreme Court. Thus, it concludes that the emergence of cosmopolitan norms of justice enables democratic iterations capable of providing greater security to the rights of indigenous peoples.

Keywords:
Indigenous peoples land rights; Xukuru Case; Inter-American Court of Human Rights