Government urged to respect international law on tribal peoples

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Peru’s government is being urged to respect the only international law on tribal peoples after a series of complaints that it was failing to do so.

The complaints were made by Peru’s national Amazon Indigenous peoples’ organisation, AIDESEP, and a number of other organisations to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), claiming that Peru’s government is violating the ILO’s ‘Convention 169’.

The ILO has responded to the complaints by making a number of demands on Peru’s government. These include: 1) ensuring that Peru’s Indigenous peoples are properly consulted about projects on their land; and 2) identifying ‘urgent situations related to the exploitation of natural resources which threaten the individuals, institutions, property, work, cultures and environment’ of Indigenous peoples.

The ILO makes special mention of uncontacted tribes, acknowledging that their situation is different to the majority of Indigenous peoples. ‘That doesn’t mean different action to address the specific requirements of certain groups like uncontacted tribes can’t be taken,’ the ILO says.

Protests by Indigenous peoples across the Peruvian Amazon are currently taking place. The protests are in response to the government’s failure to recognise and respect their rights.