Constitutional Court invited the indigenous governments of the Amazon and state entities to an intercultural dialogue

Resultados de traduccióOn April 29, 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled on the tutelage imposed by the indigenous governments of the Macro-territory of the Jaguars of Yuruparí. In this ruling, he recognized the need to establish intercultural dialogues with the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Mercury contamination in the Colombian Amazon represents a threat to the survival of Indigenous Peoples and the environmental balance of this biome. The high levels of this harmful metal affect their physical and cultural survival. The high concentration of mercury that affects the Amazon today is the product of gold extraction, which, in addition to being illegal in most cases, contradicts environmental management and respect for the territory that is the cultural base for these peoples. For them, minerals such as gold are sacred and their extraction generates environmental, social and cultural imbalances. This problem had been denounced on several occasions through popular actions, impact studies and notices to judicial authorities and environmental authorities. Since the year 2000, the Indigenous Communities of the Macro-territory of the Jaguars of Yuruparí have issued alerts without receiving effective solutions. Given this scenario, on November 19, 2019, in a new attempt to safeguard the lives of their territories and inhabitants, the representatives of the more than 30 Indigenous Ethnic Groups presented a tutela action requesting the protection of their fundamental rights and a response of the State in the face of ecological and cultural damage. The preparation and presentation of this legal resource had the advice and support of Gaia Amazonas in alliance with the Legal Clinic for the Environment and Public Health of the Universidad de los Andes (MASP) and the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation. In it, the risks to which the members of the communities were exposed due to the high concentration of mercury and the multiple rights that were being violated were exposed. Among them, the right to health, life, dignity, diversity and integrity, among others. After a long process, and being considered inadmissible in the first two instances, the guardianship was reviewed by the Constitutional Court. Through Order T-7,983,171, the high court stated the importance of carrying out a prior dialogue with the actors who had been directly affected by this problem. This, before making any decision or implementing any type of measure. In addition, it requested detailed information on the case from government entities that have interference. Today, April 28, marks one year since the court's pronouncement. A valuable ruling for intercultural dialogue, especially since this is a process that has been done very rarely in the country. In this new opportunity, the dialogue between cultures opens the way to the recognition of ancestral Amazonian knowledge and a new way of caring for the environment, which can be an important input in the fight for environmental conservation and against illegal mining. Also, it brings another vision to territorial ordering. Towards a holistic view that, different from what it has been for decades, sees the territory as the same and promotes territorial planning from the bottom up. In addition, it complements the advances in territorial autonomy and consolidation of governance promoted by Decree 632 of 2018; decree that grants the indigenous territories of Amazonas, Vaupés and Guainía the same political and administrative powers as the municipalities to govern their territories, 18.2% of the Amazon.