Dispute Over Machu Picchu
Two Peruvian families whose Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and the surrounding lands were expropriated by the government are planning to lodge a complaint to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for not being paid compensation by the government. The applicable U.N. Convention states that the state's right to cultural assets like in this case Machu Picchu cannot predominate over property law. Since 2004, the two Peruvian families, Abril and Zavaleta families have been in a dispute with the Peruvian government since 2004 over ownership of the ruins of Machu Picchu and 22,000 hectares (85 sq. miles) of land inside which today is the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park. They claim that their right to those lands in Machu Picchu has been legally registered since the 19th century.