The Right to Education and the Shawi Nation of Peru

Abstract

The present research story focuses on the contribution education makes in helping a group of Indigenous Peruvians, the Shawi in the northern Amazon, be able to claim other rights. This is based on the premise that education is a basic human right which should not be denied to any person. Indigenous Peoples have been throughout history and continue to be more vulnerable to injustice oppression and violation of their rights. In Peru, Indigenous Amazonians have for years been marginalised from the mainstream Spanish speaking society, and not been afforded the same opportunities as other Peruvian citizens. My aim has been to tell the story of whether or not the Shawi‟s right to education is being respected, and how education is helping (enabling) them to achieve other rights. I found the right to education was respected in the Shawi community I visited, mostly due to the efforts of the teacher rather than because of the state holding up to its responsibilities. I was also able to see how education plays a part in enabling a group of Indigenous Peoples to claim other rights. A Human Rights Based approach has been used. This approach is based on international human rights standards and has the intention of both promoting and protecting human rights. In this particular case, the approach has allowed me to identify the Shawi people as rights holders who have entitlements (such as the right to an intercultural education), and the Peruvian State as the duty bearer who has obligations (to provide an intercultural education).