The urgency of an indigenous spokesperson in the Escazú Agreement

By: Jackeline Borjas, Amazon program of DAR

We are a country where violence and murders against defenders of the Amazon still prevail and increase. From 2017 to 2020, 1,268 murders have been reported globally[1], where only in 2020, according to what was denounced by the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), every two days, on average, an indigenous defender dies in the Amazon[2]. This includes Peru, the Ucayali region being one of the most affected, due to the continuous threats to human rights defenders, and to the lack of concrete and immediate actions by the authorities to eradicate illegal activities. Furthermore, the Peruvian Congress continues without ratifying the Escazú Agreement.

Peru went from being one of the countries that led the previous negotiations for the signing of this treaty, to being on the list of countries in the Amazon basin that have not prioritized its ratification[3]. While the Government and the Congress of the Republic focus on political vacancy issues, indigenous defenders continue to be threatened and killed. Likewise, at the regional level, the process of preparing the next Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Escazú Agreement is already underway, led by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in its role as technical secretariat. of the treaty.

The Regional Public Mechanism, a mechanism for participation, has been making efforts to include the recommendations of civil society organizations. Participation in the COP should include representation of the indigenous public, in the structure of the COP and in initiatives to strengthen the participation of human rights defenders.

Therefore, in addition to the existence of this mechanism, whose creation was thanks to the achievement of the incidence of organized civil society, it is important and urgent that the States parties to the Agreement establish their own and specific mechanism for the effective and full participation of the representative organizations of indigenous peoples, the same that responds to their own dynamics, worldview, autonomy and governance of indigenous peoples. This is to support the opening of the process, since this inclusion of their participation is supported by international standards of human rights of indigenous peoples, whose international obligations must be guaranteed in the implementation of the Escazú Agreement.

Consequently, it is essential, in accordance with the spirit of the Agreement itself, that the States be able to guarantee this intercultural and timely mechanism for the representative participation of indigenous peoples, with respect for their organic structure and in coordination with their respective authorities. Finally, that our Congress prioritize its discussion on the agenda for the prompt ratification of the Agreement and that the sectors take concrete actions in the face of risk factors to the lives of indigenous defenders in the country. Actions are urgently needed now.

[1] Front Line Defenders (2020). Global Analysis Report 2020. Cited in: COICA (2021). Glasgow Declaration on goals for the protection of defenders from COICA at COP 26. In: https://coicamazonia.org/declaracion-de-glasgow-sobre-metas-para-la-proteccion-de-defensores- and-defenders-from-la-coica-en-la-cop26 /

[2] COICA (2020). Declaration of emergency of human rights for indigenous human rights defenders of the Amazon. In: https://coicamazonia.org/declaratoria-de-emergencia-de-derechos-humanos-para-defensoras-y-defensores-indigenas-de-la-amazonia/

[3] Only 3 of the 9 countries of the Amazon basin have ratified: Ecuador, Bolivia and Guyana.

[Publirreportaje]