Indigenous leaders from the Peruvian Amazon calling for Peru's government to stop oil and gas projects in their territory took their case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights this month.
The leaders, presenting evidence of the impact of oil and gas exploration at a hearing before the Commission, said the projects violate Indigenous rights by threatening their land, health and food security, as well as being in breach of international obligations that require Indigenous groups to be consulted.
Joint data from several Peruvian organisations has documented 831 oil spills in the Peruvian Amazon.
The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP), representing the leaders, said the fossil fuel projects also pose risks to uncontacted Indigenous groups, and noted the specific impact on Indigenous women.
Peruvian government representatives told the hearing Peru is a democratic state which respects law and guarantees human rights to all its citizens, but AIDESEP Board of Directors member from the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon, Julio Cusurichi Palacios, told the Associated Press the government "have stated things that are not in accordance with what is happening in reality."
"The rights of Indigenous peoples are not being respected, the contamination of our rivers and territories continues, there are threats to uncontacted Indigenous Peoples, more regulations that make environmental standards more flexible, and oil and gas lots continue to be promoted," he said after the hearing in early March.
The Peruvian government rejected most of the claims made by Indigenous leaders and ignored media requests for comment.
Around 75 per cent of the Peruvian Amazon, home to 21 Indigenous nations, is covered by oil and gas concessions, many of which overlap with Indigenous territories.
An environmental lawyer who participated in the Commission hearing, Cesar Ipenza, told the Associated Press the situation "has been getting increasingly worse".
"There's a policy of promoting extractive activities in highly vulnerable areas, especially in the Amazon," he said, noting that the impact on the environment and the lack of communication with Indigenous groups is already evident.
The Commission has directed the Peruvian government to provide written responses to the claims raised by Indigenous groups.
Indigenous advocacy group Survival International told the Associated Press the at least 20 uncontacted tribes in the most remote regions of the Peruvian Amazon are under threat, noting the recent appearance of the uncontacted Mashco-Piro people near logging concessions and their subsequent deadly encounters with logging workers.
Survival International researcher Teresa Mayo said Indigenous organisations have been compelled to turn to international bodies in their pursuit of justice.
"They want the Commission to force Peru to abide by the international laws and treaties it's signed up to, rather than ignore those aspects which it finds inconvenient," she said.
with Associated Press
