A/HRC/27/52/Add.3
6.
Many of the challenges that indigenous peoples face in Peru relate to the extraction
of natural resources, which has a long history in the country and is of prime importance for
the national economy. In recent years, over half the country’s exports consisted of mineral
or hydrocarbon products. According to 2011 figures of the Ministry of Energy and Mines,
11.54 per cent of the territory is under operating licence; 1.05 per cent is being explored or
exploited, while an estimated 10 per cent of the territory has unexplored mining potential.4
7.
There are no precise official figures regarding the percentage of licensed territory
that concerns indigenous land, whether titled or held by custom. However, in terms of
hydrocarbon operations, an estimated 88 per cent of licensed areas in the Amazon region
that are currently being explored or exploited overlap with the titled land of indigenous
communities, while approximately 32 per cent of licensed areas overlap with reservations
set up for peoples living in a situation of isolation or initial contact.5
8.
As will be noted in chap. IV, in recent years many protests have been staged against
extractive projects by members of indigenous peoples. However, the Special Rapporteur
observed during his visit that, in general, the representatives of indigenous peoples did not
reject extractive operations outright; rather, they stressed the need for their rights to be
respected, including their rights over their traditional lands and waters, and their related
rights to self-determination and to define their own development priorities.
9.
One of the prerequisites for the fulfilment of indigenous rights in the context of
extractive projects is their participation in the strategic planning process in this sector,
including the selection and delineation of blocks for hydrocarbon exploration, the definition
of initiatives for attracting investment and the choice of the priority to be given to extractive
operations to promote economic development. As the Special Rapporteur has emphasized
before, in addition to contributing to the observance of the rights of indigenous peoples,
“indigenous participation in strategic planning for resource extraction will undoubtedly
lend itself to greater possibilities of agreement with indigenous peoples on specific
projects” on their territories (A/HRC/24/41, para. 51). Although the implementation of
prior consultation has led to the greater inclusion of indigenous peoples in the granting of
licenses for extractive projects (see chap. VI below), so far the indigenous peoples in Peru
have not taken part in the strategic planning concerning natural resources.
III. Legal and regulatory framework
10.
Another prerequisite is the development and strengthening of a regulatory
framework that fully recognizes indigenous peoples’ rights over lands and natural resources
and other rights that may be affected by extractive operations; that mandates respect for
those rights both in all relevant State administrative decision-making and in the behaviour
of extractive companies; and that provides effective sanctions and remedies when those
rights are infringed either by government or by corporate actors (A/HRC/24/41, para. 44).
Although progress has been achieved in Peru on the regulatory framework protecting
indigenous lands and the obligation to consult indigenous peoples, in many aspects,
4
5
4
Peruvian Amazon, 2007, Vol. 1, December 2008, p. 12.
Ministry of Energy and Mines, “Panorama y Proyecciones del Sector Minero: inversiones y
operaciones para los próximos años” (Mining sector overview and forecast: investment and
operations in the years ahead), 2011, p. 7.
Matt Finer and Martí Orta-Martínez, “A second hydrocarbon boom threatens the Peruvian Amazon:
trends, projections, and policy implications”, Environmental Research Letters, 16 February 2010, p.
4.
GE.14-07246