EarthRights International applauds the UN General Assembly for their adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in an historic session on Thursday, September 13th, 2007. This Declaration, which has been in the making for nearly 25 years, outlines the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of the world’s Indigenous Peoples, thereby ensuring an important measure of international legal protection at a time when indigenous languages, cultures, and ways of life are increasingly being threatened by transnational corporate interests.

UN Press Release | Message by UNPFII Chairperson | Joint Statement of International NGOs

We would like to take this opportunity to, once again, call attention to the struggle of the Achuar people and other indigenous groups against destructive oil development in the Peruvian Amazon.  ERI is currently representing the Achuar in a lawsuit against Occidental Petroleum for toxic contamination of their communities, and has highlighted the damage in a recent report, Legacy of Harm.  

As we try to achieve accountability for past harms and stop ongoing harms, the Achuar and other groups are also threatened by new projects.  In April and May, ERI joined a coalition of groups in expressing concerns to the Peruvian government over the environmental impact statements of oil companies beginning to operate in new concessions in Lot 39 and Lot 67 (both documents are in Spanish,) which pose a major risk to isolated indigenous peoples in that territory.  And in July, Achuar communities voiced their objections to new petroleum development in their territory by the Argentinian oil company Pluspetrol.

Documents: 

Lot 39

Lot 67

UNFPII Statement

Emergency NGO Statement