The Instituto del Bien Común is deeply concerned about Peru's government policies regarding hydrocarbons extraction, as it imposes unacceptable violations on the rights of the uncontacted indigenous peoples still living in the Peruvian Amazon; and affect their right to life, health, identity, land and territory, among others. Hydrocarbons extraction in the rainforests inhabited by uncontacted tribes is akin to the government forcing its entry into a citizen's home and expelling him through the noise of heavy machinery and megaphone amplified voices.

In the case of the Cacataibo uncontacted tribes, who live in the Selva Central area of the Peruvian Amazon, along the sources of the Aguaytia, San Alejandro and Zungaruyacu rivers, the government's policies open their ancestral territory to gas and oil exploration activities. These violations to their rights endanger their lives and personal integrity by exposing them to the risk of contact and transmission of diseases that are deadly to them, as tragic past experiences show.

We have observed that the body of legislation and laws concerning the protection of indigenous peoples' rights have serious faults and don't assure real and effective protection. For instance, Law 28736, for the protection of uncontacted peoples, issued in May 2006 establishes on one hand, the intangible nature of territorial reservations yet at the same time allows extractive industries operations within their boundaries. This contradiction overlooks the fact that environment conservation is vital for uncontacted people as their survival depends fundamentally on the resources of the forest, as it has been clearly stated in ILOs Convention 169, signed by Peru.

On the other hand, the State is not concerned enough to issue temporary protection measures while pending Territorial Reservations' claims and petitions are approved. Far from that, it allows timber and hydrocarbon extraction operations that clearly endanger uncontacted peoples.

By express decision of the Peruvian government, and in line with its foreign investment attraction policy, the State has deliberately weakened all institutions responsible for environmental and indigenous affairs, limiting their decision making and operational capabilities. One example of this is the case of the national authority on indigenous issues, INDEPA. During the current administration it has lost its decentralized and autonomous status to become a third level department of the Women's Affairs and Social Development Ministry.

In addition to the profound weakness of the state, there is a lack of political will to protect citizens interests from the consequences of extractive industries. Only this can explain the fact that the government does not allocate resources to this end, or the lack of progress on the processes carried out by INDEPA regarding the evaluation of proposals to create indigenous territorial reservations submitted by various indigenous federations and civil society organizations. The latter constitute a source of embarrassment for Peru: only a few out of the fourteen indigenous peoples groups in situation of isolation or initial contact are protected by five territorial reservations.

The lack of interest shown by the State to cap illegal logging and settlements within the limits of the proposed territorial reservations can be also explained by the same reasons. In fact, the government is actually promoting the fragmentation and privatization of communal land and is issuing forest concessions which are detrimental to the physical integrity of the native peoples of the Peruvian Amazon.

In light of the previous arguments, the Instituto del Bien Común calls for the revision of the national policy of hydrocarbon extraction, particularly with regard to its negative impact on the native population, especially uncontacted tribes, whose survival is in jeopardy. Moreover, the mandate to protect these peoples should be made effective. Protocols should be created. This implies that relevant authorities of the sector develop adequate procedures to report sightseeing of uncontacted peoples.

The Instituto del Bien Común is not opposed to the presence of extractive industries in the Peruvian Amazon basin and has no intention of antagonizing companies currently operating in the region. It is open to dialogue. The aim of the Institute is to promote respect for the environmental and indigenous rights with a view to make the government accountable for its responsibility to protect its citizens from risks derived from hydrocarbons extraction operations, and to put in place adequate protection mechanisms. In this regard it is a responsibility of the State to set standards and insuring their compliance by the companies. However, if the Peruvian State does not move towards enforcing respect of and compliance with its own norms and regulations, it is even more difficult to expect the companies to do so.