The North-South Institute and its partners in Colombia, Proceso de Comunidades Negras, a national Afro-Colombian organization, and the Resguardo Indígena Cañamomo Lomaprieta, an Indigenous Reserve representing 32 Embera Chamí communities in Caldas, are pleased to announce the publication of several documents related to our 30-month collaborative project titled, "Towards the Development of Standards and Mechanisms to protect Ethnic Peoples Affected by Extractives: Implementing Free, Prior and Informed consent and prior consultation in the context of the Colombian armed conflict." The project was led by Viviane Weitzner, former Senior Researcher, Governance and Natural Resources, The North-South Institute.
Funded by the Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Centre, United States Agency for International Development, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rights & Democracy, the principal objective of this participatory action research project was to undertake primary research that:
· Strengthens project participants (through awareness-raising of rights and the extractive sector, and strengthening research, organizational and networking capacities);
· Highlights and clarifies their perspectives on, and strategies for, territorial control and development; and
· Sheds new light on the debate around human rights standards and mechanisms to hold to account companies operating in Colombia, with a focus on extractive activities affecting ethnic communities.
Project activities were undertaken through intercultural, gendered and human rights lenses. For a more detailed description of the project, the partners and activities, please see the project brochure, available in English and Spanish.
Colombia has arguably one of the most progressive constitutional and legislative regimes in the world with regards to recognition of Indigenous and Afro-descendent rights. For example, ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples was ratified and, together with all the main treaties concerning human rights, has been enshrined in the Colombian Constitution…Despite this reality, foreign governments and companies are increasingly looking to Colombia for its natural resources, and free trade agreements with Canada, the European Union and the United States are in various stages of negotiation and implementation. The result is increased pressure on Indigenous and Afrodescendent communities, whose territories hold much of the sought-after resources.
Select outputs now available through NSI, and now available through the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, include:
Publications:
Caught in the Crossfire: Indigenous Peoples, Black Communities and Extractives in Colombia
…What guidance is there for communities, the State, home governments and extractive companies investing in Colombia in this complex landscape of armed conflict, increasingly explicit ethnic rights, and growing extractive investments? Are corporate social responsibility (CSR) instruments enough to protect human rights? How can rights to self-determination and to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) be upheld? Can FPIC be implemented at all in Colombia, given the internal armed conflict? [The results of a] joint project on ethnic rights and accountability to examine these issues [are presented here]…
Holding Extractive Companies to Account in Colombia: An evaluation of CSR instruments through the lens of Indigenous and Afro-Descendent Rights
Colombia is at a crossroads when it comes to human rights and extractives. It boasts one of the most progressive human rights frameworks in the world, with ethnic rights well protected in law, and increasingly making headlines with the cutting-edge judgments of its Constitutional Court. And at the same time, the Santos government is actively promoting investment in extractives, and mining in particular, as the ‘engine of growth’ for the country. With the conclusion of free trade agreements with the United States, Canada and several other important partners, and the widespread perception that Colombia is largely post-conflict, investments in potential extractive projects are set to increase dramatically. Standing squarely in the middle of this crossroads are Colombia’s ethnic peoples, whose ancestral territories contain a large proportion of the resources of interest to companies…
Colombia Synthesis Document: From Consultation to Consent
This document provides an overview of the context, key activities and results of a 30-month collaborative project between The North-South Institute (Canada), Proceso de Comunidades Negras (a national Colombian organization), and the Resguardo Indígena Cañamomo Lomaprieta (an Indigenous Reserve comprising 32 Embera Chamí communities in Caldas, Colombia) on ethnic rights and extractives in Colombia. (Author:Gladys Jimeno)
Summary Report:Workshop-Gathering on Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Prior Consultation for Indigenous Peoples and Black Communities - International and Colombian standards in the Extractive Sector, July 13-15, 2010, Bogotá
This workshop report (available in Spanish and English) summarizes the main discussion and presentations at a workshop that brought diverse actors (ethnic communities, government, company, non-governmental organizations and national and international experts) together to discuss free, prior and informed consent and extractives. (Authors:Edited by Viviane Weitzner, Gladys Jimeno, Plutarco Sandoval and Federico Herrera).
Summary Report: Workshop on the impacts of mining and other extractive projects on Ethnic Territories, August 2-4, 2011, Bogotá
This workshop report (available in Spanish and English) summarizes the main discussion and presentations at a workshop that brought diverse actors (ethnic communities, government, company, and non-governmental organizations and national and international experts) together to discuss the impacts of mining on ancestral territories, and tools for bringing into line practice with the international and national human rights frameworks. (Authors:Edited by Viviane Weitzner, Gladys Jimeno, Plutarco Sandoval and Federico Herrera).
Several videos were also produced, and will be available shortly.
[El Instituto Norte Sur, INS del Canadá, ha publicado una serie de documentos relativos a un proyecto de más de dos años, conjuntamente con contrapartes en Colombia, el Proceso de Comunidades Negras, PCN, una organización nacional afrodescendiente, y el Resguardo Indígena Cañamomo Lomaprieta, que representa a 32 comunidades Embera Chamí del departamento de Caldas. El Centro de Información sobre Empresas y Derechos Humanos agradece la contribución del INS y publica todos los materiales de dicho proceso]
· Rendición de cuentas de las Compañías Extractivas en Colombia: Una evaluación de los instrumentos de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial, RSE, a la luz de los derechos de los indígenas y los Afrodescendientes.
http://www.nsi-ins.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-Holding-exractive-companies-to-account-in-Colombia-Spanish.pdf
Colombia se encuentra en una encrucijada en cuanto al tema de los derechos humanos y la extracción de minerales. El país exhibe uno de los marcos de derechos humanos más progresistas del mundo, los derechos étnicos están bien protegidos por la ley y las sentencias de avanzada de la Corte Constitucional ocupan cada vez más los titulares de los periódicos. Al mismo tiempo, el gobierno de Santos promueve de manera activa la inversión en la extracción y especialmente en la minería, denominándola “el motor de crecimiento” del país. La firma de acuerdos de libre comercio con los Estados Unidos, Canadá y otros socios importantes y la percepción actual de que Colombia es un país que desde hace tiempo está en una fase de postconflicto configuran el marco para que la inversión en proyectos extractivos crezca dramáticamente. Las comunidades étnicas de Colombia están en una encrucijada. Sus territorios ancestrales incluyen una extensa porción de los recursos en los que las compañías están interesadas.
Estrategias y Mecanismos de Protección de Pueblos Indígenas Frente a Proyectos Mineros y Energéticos: La experiencia del Resguardo Indígena Cañamomo Lomaprieta (solo en español)
Experiencia de La Toma, Suárez - Reglamento Interno (solo en español)
Cartillas para comunidades afectadas por actividades extractivas (solo en español):
· La Consulta y el Consentimiento Previos, Libres e Informados - Frente a proyectos de Extracción y Explotación de Recursos Naturales en Territorios Étnicos desde la Mirada de Comunidades Negras e Indígenas, Colombia.
· Minería y Comunidades: Transformación de Conflictos a Favor de los Derechos de las Comunidades Indígenas y Negras.
· Encaminando la Investigación Acción Participativa: Ideas preliminares hacia la construcción de una metodología conjunta.
Documento de resumen de taller sobre minería e industrias extractivas y su impacto en comunidades étnicas
Este taller se llevó a cabo dentro del marco del proyecto de “Desarrollo de estándares y mecanismos para la protección de los Pueblos Étnicos frente a proyectos mineros y energéticos: Aplicación de la consulta previa, libre e informada y el consentimiento previo, libre e informado en el contexto de un conflicto armado interno”…El objetivo general del taller era el de analizar los impactos de la minería y de otros proyectos extractivos en territorios étnicos colombianos, desde una perspectiva social, ambiental, cultural, espiritual y de derechos humanos. El reconocimiento del análisis de impactos como una herramienta importante para informar los procesos de toma de decisiones en cuanto a proyectos extractivos, y para desarrollar de pleno el derecho a la consulta y al consentimiento previos, libres e informados…para con todo ello reflexionar sobre cómo se puede fortalecer el marco legal colombiano y sobre cómo estas herramientas pueden ayudar la protección e implementación de los derechos de los pueblos étnicos.