Amparo action against an oil project license. Right of indigenous peoples to participate through consultations in decisions that may affect them. Defense and preservation of indigenous land. Complaint before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights for failure to comply with decision.
In a parallel development, the U’wa people denounced the Colombian Government before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleging the consultation had not taken place under adequate conditions, and the necessary measures to protect their personal, cultural, economic and environmental integrity had not been adopted. The IACHR was asked to adopt precautionary measures to prevent the oil project from being carried out in indigenous land, because the U’wa people consider its whole land -including the subsoil- to be sacred. A negotiation process was started to find a friendly solution to the conflict. See in this database Pueblo U’wa s/Medidas Cautelares ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos for the development of the friendly settlement process.
The Constitutional Court of Colombia has found that consultations are a fundamental right that is key to the protection of the U’wa people’s substantive rights to their social, economic and cultural integrity. This decision is particularly important within Latin America, where oil projects are often developed in indigenous land without due respect for the communities’ rights.
Applicant: Ombudsman on behalf of an indigenous community of the U’wa people (http://www.defensoria.org.co).