Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

1. The Committee refers to its observation and requests the Government to respond in its next report, due in 2003, to the comments in the observation and in the 1998 direct request. The Committee observes that the report received in July 2001 contains no indication that it was sent by the Government to employers’ and workers’ organizations, as required by article 23(2) of the ILO Constitution and in accordance with Part VII of the report form. It hopes that the Government will send a copy of its next report to the abovementioned organizations.

2. Articles 6 and 15 of the Convention. The Committee previously requested information on the application of these Articles in connection with the case under examination. It notes that, according to the information supplied by the Government, Supreme Decree No. 012-98-PROMUDEH established the Indigenous Affairs Committee, a multi-sectoral body responsible for promoting enhanced coordination between the indigenous communities and the State, and that its regulations were approved by means of Ministerial Resolution No. 104-2001-PROMUDEH. One of this committee’s functions is to coordinate policies and standards with the initiatives and demands of the indigenous communities; it will also determine the consultation procedures to be followed by the various state departments with regard to legislative and administrative measures that might affect indigenous peoples. The Committee notes that this legislation marks a step forward in facilitating the application of the Convention. It observes, however, that the information it requested on the application of these Articles of the Convention in the context of the case under examination has not been supplied.

3. The Committee points out to the Government that registration of the lands in question in the domain of the State does not exempt it from applying Article 15 of the Convention. It urges the Government to consult the Olmos community to determine whether, and to what extent, its interests would be harmed by the project before embarking on any programme for the exploration or exploitation of resources pertaining to their lands, as required by Article 15, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee also asks the Government to take appropriate steps to ensure that the peoples concerned participate wherever possible in the benefits of these activities and receive fair compensation for any damages they may sustain as a result of them, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. Please provide information on measures taken to this end and on the progress achieved.

4. The Committee notes Chapter X (Rights of indigenous communities) of the second report on human rights in Peru by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106-Doc. 59 rev.) of 2 June 2000, which states that the Special Project on the Titling of Lands (PETT) does not award property titles to indigenous communities that apply for them, arguing that it lacks the necessary funds; that priority has been given to clearing up the status of the property of small farmers and not of the peasant and indigenous communities; and that indigenous property rights have suffered significantly from the agrarian reform process. The report also indicates that some 300 communities are not recognized and do not have title, and that approximately 3,431 peasant communities lack support for their traditional lands and are therefore unable to enter their titles in the public registers. The foregoing coincides with the information sent by the Government on the Olmos community to the effect that the latter cannot register its lands because it is not registered as a legal personality in the public registers. The Committee expresses its concern at the difficulties encountered by the indigenous communities in asserting their land ownership rights. As the Committee pointed out in paragraph 14 of its observation of 1998, the Convention requires governments to take the necessary steps to ensure effective protection of the property and ownership rights of these peoples and must offer them a real possibility to settle their land claims. The Committee hopes that the Government will take appropriate measures, in consultation with the peoples concerned as the Convention requires, to identify and eliminate obstacles, procedural or otherwise, to the effective protection of these rights and that in its next report it will be able to supply information on the progress made.