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CAPAJ
LEGAL COMMITTEE ON SELF-DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS ANDEAN PEOPLES
Special Advisory Board of the United Nations Economic and Social Council
Session 1
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
 The establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues within the
United Nations system has proved the Indigenous Peoples' right to be
adequately heard by the international organizations supporting the States'
policy.
In South America, the governments of the so-called "Andean Community of
Nations" (Comunidad Andina de Naciones CAN) have decided to convene the
consulting forum with Indigenous Peoples and governments on June 23-24,
2002. They made a commitment to promote the Indigenous Peoples' Rights.
However, we are concerned that the resolution adopted by CAN on
development of traditional knowledge and access to genetic resources tends
to weaken the strong links between Indigenous Peoples and their
biologically diverse environment.
Resolution 391 was adopted by CAN and was supposed to become law in
Bolivia and Peru. It was rejected in Bolivia by the Indian Movement
leading by Felipe Quipse and was almost adopted in Peru before legal
opposition in the form of the "Organización de Bases Aymaras y Amazónicas
OBAAQ" prevented it from becoming a law.
The CAN policy regarding the development of traditional knowledge and
access to genetic resources supported by the WIPO and by the World Bank is
focused on preserving states' independence and control over the genetic
resources from the biodiversity of the indigenous territories and thus
depriving Indigenous Peoples of the right to continue their traditional
management and arrangement of such resources.
The states do not recognize the contribution that Indigenous Peoples have
made for thousands of years in achieving the biological diversity that
presently exists on their territories. The current CAN states have not at
all contributed in the production of biological wealth in the ancestral
territories, on the contrary, on several occasions they have exposed it to
risk by granting mining, oil and energy concessions that do not favor its
conservation. But now they are at the point of allowing access to the big
multinationals of the genetic industry. They are ignoring Indigenous
Peoples rights to sovereignty over such resources.
Our organization believes that this theme needs to be considered at the
consultation forum in Cuzco. We also believe that the Permanent Forum
should consider the possibility of requesting a briefing from the WIPO on
this subject and that it should recommend that the states of the so-called
Comunidad Andina de Naciones include in the Cuzco forum agenda the theme
of this declaration and also allow Indigenous Peoples, who have formulated
their opposition to these politics, to participate in order to explain
their reasons. Thus CAN should in a block request from the Chilean
government that it withdraw the hundreds of antipersonnel mines that are
installed on their border with Peru and that it commit itself to
respecting the free transit of the indigenous population of Tacna, people
and some goods, between Tacna and Arica in accordance with the 1929 Treaty
which ended the Pacific War.
To conclude, please allow me Mr. Chairman, through your intermediary
presence, to send to you, the members of the Permanent Forum and the
distinguished delegates, the warmest greetings from the President of the
Pueblo Qullana Aymara el Alpu Mallku Max Paredes Parliament, Mama Thalla
and the Council of Amautas of the Aymara Jacha Ulaka.
Thank you Mr. Chairman
Tomas Alarcón
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