Report No. 75/02
The Inter-American Commission found that the United States violated Article 2 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man by utilizing unfair procedures before the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) to appropriate the Shoshones' ancestral lands and permitting gold prospecting activities within that territory. Additionally, the Commission found a violation of Articles 18 and 23 because the process before the ICC did not allow the petitioners to be fully informed or involved in the determination of the land title. Articles 2, 18, and 23 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man recognize the right of American peoples to equality under the law, fair trial, and property, respectively. The Commission recommended the United States to adopt the necessary legislative and administrative measures to ensure respect for the petitioners' right to property.