The U’wa people are advancing in our process of strengthening resistance in defense of culture, the Earth, the environment, rivers, mountains, air, and all of humanity.
For the U’wa people, 2014 has been characterized by a reinvigoration of our struggle against extractive projects within our ancestral territories. We have carried out internal actions like community meetings, assemblies, gatherings with traditional authorities, cultural events, group gatherings and spiritual orientations. At the same time, we have carried out actions to bring to light the resource extraction problem in both national and international scenarios. We have reactivated our support network of organizations that defend the environment and human rights and we have placed the U’wa territory issue on the agenda of the Colombian national government.
Within the context, we U’wa have now held meetings with the national government on April 25th, May 1st, and June 6th. In each meeting we have emphasized the urgent need for the Colombian government to effectively guarantee our territorial rights, canceling all natural resource extraction projects within our ancestral territory, including the Magallanes gas exploration project. At the same time, we have reminded the government that we are an indigenous people at risk of physical and cultural extinction according to the Court Ruling 004 of 2009, but above all considering the reality we live within our territory: increased militarization, restrictions on our movements, invasions of culturally strategic areas like the Cubogón River and an increase of illness in recent years.
In relation to the June 6th meeting – which had participation from the Minister of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of the Interior, INCODER, President of Ecopetrol, Peoples Defender Office, Ministry of Environment, National Parks office, among other institutions – we achieved that the Magallanes project would continue to be suspended and a committee between the U’wa nation’s government and the National government will be formed to define the terms of reference and scope for the study around the Magallanes project’s impacts. The Institute for Environmental Studies of the National University of Colombia will carry out the study. Also, we were able to determine the continuity of the process of sañamiento (government buying out current settlers) within the U’wa resguardo (reservation) and the constitution of the Santa Marta and Pedraza resguardo. Also, we demanded that the national government pay greater attention to the issues around health, for which the Ministry of Social Protection and the U’wa Association will schedule a meeting in early July. On June 27th, we will hold a followup meeting with the national government to review issues related to the Magallanes project.
The U’wa Association has a meeting planned for June 17th in Bogotá with the National University of Colombia and the national government to advance the terms of reference for the study of impacts caused by Magallanes. We will also meet with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights with the objective that they accompany the process as an international guarantor.
Finally, the U’wa People state that we will use all of the legal, political, and cultural resources at our disposal to defend our ancestral territory. We believe that this is a just and dignified struggle not only for the U’wa, but for all of humanity the degree to which humanity needs air, water, earth, and healthy food to be able to continue existing.
Given all this, we once again send out a call to all people, social and environmental organizations and defenders of life to stay alert to the U’wa process and to look for mechanisms that allow you to advocate in favor of the protection of our people.
Download the original document in Spanish
