I recently published this paper in English on the implementation of the right to prior consultation in Peru for native and indigenous peoples.    Upon taking office in 2011, Peruvian president Ollanta Humala expressed his commitment to the implementation of ILO Convenant 169, guaranteeing the right of indigenous peoples to be consulted by the State regarding any proposed policy decision that could affect their communities and customs; including the decision to put oil and mineral resources up for concession, in the Amazon and high Andes.

Three and a half years later, the Humala Administration is still dragging its feet.  Even the first and most emblematic consultatiaon process, regarding the creation of a nature reserve on the ancestral lands of the Maijuna and Kichwa peoples of Loreto, has been held up by the Executive.  Last week, Maijuna and Kichwa leaders travelled all the way to Lima last week to try and talk to President Humala, to no avail. In Peru, it seems that the drive to build roads and extract natural resources continues to take precedence over the rights of people to be consulted about that.

Photo credit: La Región de Loreto.