Sign-On Letter to the Government of Chile Calling for the Protection of Mapuche Rights, Territories, and Self-Determination

Date: 31 March 2026

President José Antonio Kast
Palacio de La Moneda
Santiago, Chile

Cc: National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI)

President Kast,

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, write to express our deep concern regarding the ongoing violations of the rights of the Mapuche people in Chile and to urge your administration to take immediate action to uphold their fundamental rights, consistent with Chile’s international human rights obligations.

For generations, the Mapuche people have maintained profound cultural, spiritual, and economic relationships with their ancestral territories. These lands are not only the basis of their livelihoods, but are central to their identity, language, spirituality, food sovereignty and systems of governance. Yet, Mapuche communities continue to face dispossession, marginalization, criminalization, and the ongoing erosion of their rights.

We call on your administration to respect and uphold the collective rights of the Mapuche people, including:

The right to their ancestral lands and territories, including the recognition, protection, and restitution of lands taken through historical and ongoing processes of dispossession;
The right to self-determination, including the ability to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, spiritual and cultural development;
Respect for Mapuche spirituality, including the protection of sacred sites and the ability to practice their spiritual traditions without interference;
Food sovereignty, including the right to sustain their communities through traditional agricultural practices and knowledge systems rooted in their relationship with the land.

We are further concerned by legal and policy frameworks that criminalize Mapuche land recovery and prioritize colonial private property regimes over Indigenous territorial rights. Such approaches undermine the possibility of a just resolution.

Chile is bound by international legal obligations, including International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). These frameworks affirm the rights of Indigenous peoples to their lands, territories, and resources, as well as their right to self-determination and to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) regarding decisions that affect them.

We therefore urge the government of Chile to:

Ensure that all laws and policies are brought into full alignment with ILO Convention 169 and UNDRIP;
End the criminalization and militarization of Mapuche communities;
Take concrete steps toward the recognition and restitution of Mapuche ancestral territories.

The situation facing the Mapuche people is not merely a matter of policy—it is a matter of historical justice, human dignity, and the survival of a people and their way of life.

The government of Chile must take immediate and meaningful action based on respect, recognition, and the full realization of Mapuche rights.

Sincerely,