Statement by the Indigenous Community of Santa Clara de Uchunya

STATEMENT BY THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF SANTA CLARA DE UCHUNYA

Gathered in Yarinacocha, at 16:00 hours, members of the Indigenous community Santa Clara de Uchunya, with the presence of representatives of the Federation of Native Communities of Ucayali (FECONAU), the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali (ORAU) and the Shipibo Konibo Xetebo Council (COSHICOX), we agree and outline the following to the national and international authorities, as well as to public opinion:

1. To the First Supraprovincial Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime:

Continue and accelerate the investigations against Dennis Melka, the companies Plantaciones de Pucallpa S.A.C. and Ocho Sur P. S.A.C., for environmental crimes and organized crime, which caused the destruction of 7,000 hectares of forest within our ancestral territory. Seven years after having denounced these facts, we regret that we still do not have a decision from the Judiciary. The participation of our community in the process, exclusively through the lawyers appointed by our General Assembly, seeks justice, punishment for those responsible and reparations for Santa Clara de Uchunya.

2. To the Constitutional Court:

Conduct the first follow-up hearing on the sentence they issued in our community’s case, which as indicated in the ruling has been entrusted to the Constitutional Court’s Commission for Follow-up and Compliance of Sentences. Nine months have passed and none of these hearings have been held, despite the fact that our community is still waiting for the full titling of their ancestral territory to prevent their destruction for oil palm plantations.

3. To the Regional Government of Ucayali:

Fulfil our second land title extension request, based on our claim to our ancestral territory of 86,500 hectares. We have submitted numerous requests over the last few years and it is unfortunate that, instead of attending to us, the Regional Government of Ucayali has preferred to title our lands in favour of third party invaders behind our backs. The only thing we ask for is security for our territory, as ordered by the Constitutional Court as it is our human right.

4. To the Superior Court of Justice of Ucayali:

We support the work of the judge of the Mixed Court of Campo Verde, who ordered the reinstatement of our chief Carlos Hoyos Soria, after verifying that the alleged election of Mr. Wilson Barbarán was made against the rules of the statute of our community. We ask that the campaign of defamation and harassment against him be stopped. It is urgent that his safety be guaranteed so that he can continue to do his work in this and other cases.

5. To the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:

We reiterate our request to the IACHR that our ancestral territory, taken from us by Plantaciones de Pucallpa S.A.C. and today occupied by Ocho Sur P. S.A.C., be returned to us as soon as possible, with ecological restoration. It will be up to the international authorities to determine to whom these lands belong, in accordance with national and international law, and to take corrective measures so that we can recover them. We denounce any attempt by third parties to delay or manipulate this process.

6. To the Louis Dreyfus Company:

We urge you not to buy any more palm oil from the company Ocho Sur P. S.A.C., since it has been demonstrated that it originates from violations of the rights of our indigenous community and destruction of the environment.

7. To the National Contact Point of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in the Netherlands:

Accept the complaint filed by our Indigenous representative organisations against Louis Dreyfus Company, for marketing palm oil which comes from our lands illegally and unethically. The commercialisation of this product in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe is an insult to us and we call upon the community not to consume it anymore.

8. To the press of the city of Pucallpa:

We exhort the men and women of the press in Pucallpa to carry out their work in strict respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and the elementary principles of professional ethics. We publicly denounce the campaign of defamation and stigmatisation against our leaders, our representative organisations and our allies. Enough of lies. We ask you to stop the disinformation that seeks to generate internal divisions and the rejection of Ucayali society. We reaffirm our defense of our territories and the dignity of our struggle.

Pucallpa, 13 December 2022

Photo credits: ORAU (Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali)