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Colombia

Colombian Court Confirms Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent

Date: 05/10/2011

In a historic ruling in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, Colombia’s Constitutional Court halted three industrial projects for not properly consulting affected Indigenous communities nor gaining their consent. The three projects are construction of a highway, an electric power line, and a mine. 
 

Guardians at The Heart of the World

Mamo Zäreymakú was one of the spiritual leaders (Mamos) of the Arhuaco people of northern Colombia. The Arhauco and three other related peoples—the Kogi, Arzario, and Kankuamo—live in an area encircled by what they call the Black Line. The line is a spiritual boundary that demarcates their traditional land and is punctuated by a series of sacred sites at which the Mamos make “payments” to the gods and maintain the balance of life on earth.

Trouble Trees

Indigenous peoples don’t only suffer from the effects of climate change; in some cases they suffer from the solutions to climate change.

Intolerable Intolerance

A new wave of racism against indigenous peoples is emanating from figures so hallowed they are intimidating to confront. But confront them we must; and recognize their words and deeds for what they are. The mistakes of the past are too egregious. We cannot tolerate their recurrence.

Healing Hidden Wounds

When most people think of reparations, they tend to think of things like money, land, or legislation. Certainly those are useful tools for helping victims regain their sense of dignity and move forward. But human rights violations tend to do much of their damage in the social and psychological realm, so physical reparations don’t really address the problem. If reparations are to be effective, they need to take into account the deep personal, family, and community damage caused by violations.

Land and Resources

With a population estimated at 40 to 50 million and with 400 identified ethnic and linguistic groups, indigenous peoples represent approximately 10 percent of Latin America’s population. Although their demography varies from state to state (in Bolivia and Guatemala indigenous people constitute the vast majority of the population, while in Venezuela and Brazil they represent approximately 1 percent of the total population), indigenous peoples throughout the region share a common experience: social and economic discrimination.

Human Rights Delegation Finds Colombia Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity

In September a delegation of human rights experts from Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Canada, including representatives from the United Nations and the European Union, investigated the state of indigenous peoples in Colombia and issued a statement charging the government with crimes against humanity and other, lesser charges. The group, called the International Verification Mission on the Humanitarian and Human Rights Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Colombia, was organized by the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia.

Extraction: In Colombia, a Mine Takes Much More from the Land than Coal

“It was very beautiful. There was plenty of food; the people here hardly ever got sick because everything was clean; there was a beautiful pond, unpolluted. This was what life used to be like here. It was very safe; you could go wherever you wanted, at any hour of the day or night…

“My house, mine and my husband’s, was a memory that was very dear to us… We had two bedrooms, a dining room. That was the dining room, a bedroom there, and there another bedroom. And the bathroom there. With the toilet there..!

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