REPORT No. 33/15 CASE 11.754 ADMISSIBILITY U'WA PEOPLE COLOMBIA JULY 22, 2015 I. SUMMARY 1. On April 28, 1997, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the “InterAmerican Commission”, “Commission” or “IACHR) received a petition that the U’wa people and its members (hereinafter the “alleged victims”), represented by the the U’wa People’s Asociación de Cabildos Mayores; the Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia and the Coalition for Amazonian Peoples and Environment (hereinafter the “petitioners”), brought against the Republic of Colombia (hereinafter “the State” or “Colombia”). By note of April 13, 1998, it was reported that the Colombian Commission of Jurists and the Corporación Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo” had joined as co-petitioners. 2. The petitioners allege that without regard for their right to prior, free and informed consultation, the Colombian State has taken measures that directly compromise their physical and cultural integrity and identity. They further allege that the State has failed to take the necessary steps to protect their ancestral territory. Specifically, the original petition was filed in connection with the State’s 1992 approval of an oil exploration project in the so–called Samoré block within the U’wa’s ancestral territory, which the petitioners contend was done without any prior consultations. The petitioners maintain that without regard for the U’wa people’s rights, the State continued to allow drilling, mining and other projects that were prejudicial to the U’wa people’s physical and cultural integrity and identity. As for the exhaustion of domestic remedies, the petitioners maintain that a constitutional writ of protection of human rights [acción de tutela] and an appeal were filed seeking nullification of the government order by which an environmental license was granted for an oil project on the Samoré block, remedies that did not prosper and thus were ineffective in protecting their rights. The petitioners contend that the State is responsible for violation of Articles 1(1) (general obligations), 24 (equal protection) and 25 (judicial protection) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter the “American Convention”), and Article XIII of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (hereinafter the “American Declaration”). 3. The State, for its part, maintains that while the project’s environmental license was approved in 1992 thanks to a concerted effort on the part of national agencies and even international organizations and institutions, all steps and mechanisms available to it were used to ensure that the U’wa people’s rights were effectively protected. It reports that it specifically pursued a process of prior consultations in connection with the oil exploration activities within U’wa territory and that the initiatives undertaken were done in full compliance with the requirements under the domestic legal system, while respecting the U’wa people’s integrity. The State therefore requests that the petition be declared inadmissible since it considers that the claims being made do not tend to establish violations of the American Convention. 4. Without prejudging the merits of the matter, after examining the parties’ positions and in keeping with the requirements stipulated in Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention, the Commission decides to declare the petition admissible with respect to the alleged violation of the rights protected under Articles 8, 13, 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the American Convention, read in conjunction with Articles 1(1) and 2 thereof, and Article XIII of the American Declaration, to the detriment of the alleged victims. The Commission further decides to notify the parties of this decision and include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. II. PROCESSING WITH THE COMMISSION 5. The Inter-American Commission received the petition on April 28, 1997, and recorded it as number 11,754. By note of May 27, 1997, the IACHR forwarded the pertinent parts of the petition to the State, 1