Indigenes of a Mayan community in Guatemala have taken the state to court in a case that could recognize the right of local people to control oil, gas and mining resources on their land.
The Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente is demanding the Inter-American Court of Human Rights considers void, the permit of an open-pit nickel mine, in the town of El Elstor, noting that it was never consulted.
Reference to International human rights standards, show that it is obligatory for states to consult indigenous communities and obtain their free, prior and informed consent over projects affecting their lands and resources.
Meanwhile, indigenous communities in Latin America have on countless occasions denounced the violations of this right. This case adds to a growing number of lawsuits brought by indigenous people to compel governments in the region to respect their right to veto extractive projects affecting them.
The suit has taken on a new direction, beginning a week ago, as lawyers in the suit argue that the court should recognize the rights of indigenous people to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources as a principle of public international law.
In an interview with Climate Home news, Leonardo Crippa, an attorney with the Indian Law Resource Center, representing the community said: “We believe consultation is not enough, consent is not enough. But the court has never said anything about the rights of communities to their natural resources.”
According to lawyers in the suit, its success could set a “historical” legal precedent for local communities in Latin America and become “fundamental” to advance climate action in the region.
Prior cases to this effect, show a growing recognition of indigenous peoples’ critical role in addressing the dual climate and biodiversity crisis.
Protecting Biodiversity
Local people in Latin America are estimated to protect 80% of global biodiversity. A growing body of studies show that indigenous territories have lower or similar levels of deforestation to other protected areas.
During the recent COP26 meeting, governments highlighted “the important role” of indigenous people “in addressing and responding to climate change” and agreed “to respect, promote and consider” their rights.
In an interview with Rodrigo Tot, an indigenous leader in Guatemala’s Agua Caliente, who was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his efforts to protect his community against mining, Climate Home news, reported that “he hoped the case will bring peace to his community, which has lived in fear of intimidation and violence for opposing the mine.
“When it comes to protecting forests, it will not be up to the government who has failed, but to us— this is what we have been fighting for, for the right to continue to protect our lands”.
Rodrigo Tot
Among other benefits, guaranteeing the local people’s sovereignty will further “alleviate extreme poverty” and help meet sustainable development goals by allowing communities to reap the benefits of projects they have agreed to, the lawyers involved in the case averred.
The Ecuador Example
Recently, a similar case in Ecuador, adjudicated by the country’s highest judicial body, called for stronger protection to guarantee the right of indigenous communities to consent to any oil and mining activities affecting their land.
Legal observers indicate that this deals a big blow to Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso’s ambition to double the country’s oil production to one millions barrels per day and expand mining activities. Indigenous land covers 70% of the oil and mineral-rich Ecuadorian Amazon.
The court’s verdict was that if an indigenous community refuses a project, the government can still move forward in “exceptional cases” but that “under no circumstances can a project be carried out that generates excessive sacrifices to the collective rights of communities and nature”.
An Alliance of private funders and governments commit funds to support indigenous people to increase their land rights, Kevin Curie, a programme officer of the Ford Foundation said. These funders committed to provide $1.7billion to support indigenous advance their land rights by 2025 during the Cop26 talks, he added.
The alliance has committed to fund activities that strengthen and protect indigenous peoples’ land resources rights and “strategic litigation may be one important avenue for securing and defending their rights.”
“These recent cases should be a wake-up call, not just in Ecuador and Guatemala, but around the world that ignoring indigenous rights generates enormous reputational, financial, and legal risks.”
Kevin Curie, Programme officer, Ford Foundation
READ ALSO: Ghana Beyond Aid: Revise Mining Fiscal Regime As Stipulated in Charter To Shore Up Mineral Revenues
