COLOMBIAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND MINING

That this House welcomes the Colombian Constitutional Court's decision to order the Colombian government to protect 34 indigenous groups at risk of extinction; is deeply concerned by the Colombian government's slowness to respond to the order made in 2009 and by the fact that none of the survival plans have been fully implemented; notes that mining in indigenous territories is contributing to the risk of extinction; further welcomes the Constitutional Court's suspension of mining operations at the Mandé Norte project in Embera Katio indigenous territory given the irregularities in the prior consultation process under United Nations International Labour Organization Convention 169, to which Colombia is a signatory; further notes that British-registered corporation Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Limited has a 70 per cent joint venture option on exploitation rights at Mandé Norte project; is concerned that the Embera Katio indigenous leaders resisting mining in their territories have been threatened; calls on the Colombian government to ensure the right of the indigenous people to prior consent is upheld; further calls on the UK Government to encourage the Colombian government to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples; and further calls on the UK Government to raise these concerns with the Colombian government and to monitor the implementation of the survival plans, particularly that of the Awá peoples.