On August 14th, thirty-six representatives from indigenous organizations in Peru signed a declaration stating that they would no longer work with National Commission of Andean, Amazonian, and AfroPeruvian Peoples (CONAPA). The declaration states that despite the rhetoric of the "pro indigenous" administration of Alejandro Toledo, CONAPA has only been maintained as a forum for polite dialogue between indigenous NGOs and the State. To this end CONAPA was insufficient for meeting the needs of indigenous people at the political and legal level in Peru.
Founded in November of 2001 by the current first lady of Peru, Eliane Karp, CONAPA was created under the pretext of enacting constitutional reforms geared towards indigenous human rights. Karp, a former Anthropologist from Belgium and until this summer the head executive of CONAPA, is known for making symbolic displays in support of indigenous peoples. In theory, CONAPA was a continuation of the dialogues between indigenous people and the state that took place during interim president Dr. Valentin Panigua. It failed however to live up to such expectations.
In much the same way that her husband had forged his administrative body, Karp staffed CONAPA with close friends and allies. Despite the pro-indigenous rhetoric of both Karp and Toledo neither appointed many indigenous members to their staff. The few indigenous representatives that did hold positions in CONAPA were all personally close to Karp. One such example was former head of the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of The Amazon Rainforest (AIDESEP), Gil Inoash Shawit of the Aguaruna people, whose appointment to the head of CONAPA's indigenous affairs ignited controversy.
Karp herself was forced to resign her post as director of CONAPA this summer due to investigations of her morally questionable financial transactions.
Between its inception in 2001 and its death this summer, CONAPA only met with indigenous representatives three times for regular sessions 1. The main problem of CONAPA was its inability to consult the indigenous people it claimed to represent. When topics were discussed jointly, CONAPA and indigenous NGOs were constantly at an impasse over issues. No one could agree on how many indigenous members should serve on CONAPA's board.
Another major issue involved determining the intermediary representative of indigenous groups in voluntary isolation in the Amazon and the state. From the indigenous perspective, many CONAPA representatives lacked the proper qualifications to be making important decisions on indigenous human rights. Indigenous representatives complained that only low-level functionaries of the state participated in CONAPA and that the organization lacked legal status to enforce decisions.2
CONAPA’s political style of non-deliberation has lead many indigenous people in Peru to believe that the organization was simply a curtain behind which the Executive office of Peru could make supreme decrees clandestinely.
This position is backed by a report released by IWGIA criticizing CONAPA. IWGIA states that CONAPA should have been more than just a space for dialogue between indigenous leaders and other public sectors. The report ultimately argues that CONAPA lacked any way of addressing the executive power in Peru.3
Whether or not the Toledo administration has actively sought to impede progress in the advancement of indigenous rights in Peru it seems that CONAPA has failed out right in asserting the basic human rights of indigenous people.
On September 10th the Interamerican Development Bank announced that it had approved a loan to finish construction on the controversial Camisea Pipeline Project. The pipeline is slated to cross through the protected area know as Block 88. The state reserve is home to many endangered species as well as indigenous communities such as the Yora and the Chitonahua living voluntary isolation.
A declaration issued by indigenous NGOs on August 25th demands that this project by stopped at once before catastrophic damage is done to both the environment and the people of Block 88. Since the beginning of his presidency, Toledo has whole heartedly backed the Camisea project.
The August 14th declaration ends with a call to abort any attempts to rebuild CONAPA and that immediate work begins to create a new decentralized organization that has the power and will to meet the needs of indigenous peoples in Peru. The new organization must be allowed direct dialogue with the executive power, and a development fund for indigenous and AfroPeruvian peoples.4 Almost two months after the issuing of the August 14th declaration, the Toledo administration has yet to issue a formal response.
Special Thanks to Shane Greene at the University of Chicago for his assistance and information.
Zachary Martin is a regional editor at Cultural Survival.
Footnotes : 1. A Public Declaration of Peru's Indigenous peoples Facing the Institutional Crisis of CONAPA, August 14, 2003: Translation Shane Greene, University of Chicago 2. A Public Declaration of Peru's Indigenous peoples Facing the Institutional Crisis of CONAPA, August 14, 2003: Translation Shane Greene, University of Chicago 3. Peru: El Mundo Indigena 2002-2003. In SERVIDI- Servicio de Informacion indigena: N# 30, 2003 Segundo Edicion de Septiembre: Novedades Indigenas de Peru 4. A Public Declaration of Peru's Indigenous peoples Facing the Institutional Crisis of CONAPA, August 14, 2003: Translation by Shane Greene, University of Chicago
