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On the 11th December a community delegation from the community of Santa Clara de Uchunya accompanied by representatives of FECONAU and IDL conducted a field visit to confirm reports of invasion of their lands farmed by community members close to the banks of the river Aguaytia.

Human rights defenders, whistle-blowers and witnesses face a huge variety of dangers while fighting to expose human rights abuses and related illegal resource use, land grabs and corruption. Recent reports show that defenders are facing ever higher risks, yet current protection mechanisms are failing to keep up.

On the eve of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) annual meeting the Shipibo Konibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya and its representative organisation FECONAU has condemned the failure of the organisation’s complaints mechanism to secure justice for their community.

In December 2015, the indigenous organisation FECONAU filed the first ever complaint to the RSPO about a Peruvian member.

On the 26th October 2017 the community of Santa Clara issued the following statement about the ongoing destruction of their lands for palm oil operations and their continued struggle for recognition of their land rights.

Murder of six farmers in Ucayali condemned by Shipibo as a result of Peruvian government’s failure to address land trafficking in the Peruvian Amazon.

On the 7th August 2017 the Peruvian Vice Ministry of Culture issued a welcome clarification in response to a request from the Federation of native communities of Ucayali (FECONAU)

Ucayali, 5 June 2017: Indigenous Peoples call on the Regional Council and Government of Ucayali to secure indigenous land rights, stop harmful oil palm development and protect human rights defenders in Peruvian Amazon.

Public Statement (Pronunciamento Publico in Spanish only).

In an initial public statement issued on their website, the RSPO’s Complaints Panel (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) condemned Plantaciones de Pucallpa (PdP) for its destruction of primary forests in violation of the RSPO’s code of

After appeals from indigenous organisation FECONAU in the Ucayali region the Peruvian government has recognised that the National Plan for oil palm must be consulted with Peru's indigenous peoples.Document: Aprueban consulta previa palma aceitera (Spanish only)

Since 2014, the indigenous Shipibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya with the support of FECONAU (the Federation of Native communities of Ucayali) has been challenging the operations of the palm oil company Plantaciones de Pucallpa SAC (PdP), which has destroyed more than 5,000 hectares of its traditional forest lands in the Ucayali region of Peru. Recently the struggles of the community have begun to yield important victories.

United Cacao Ltd SEZC, a company belonging to the Melka commercial group of agribusiness enterprises operating in the Peruvian Amazon, appears to be on the brink of financial collapse.