IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 574 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Peru should 

immediately cease any hostile activity against its indigenous peoples 

and instead engage in dialogue to address ongoing political conflict between state authorities and indigenous peoples. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 23, 2009 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

KILDEE, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Ms. BORDALLO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

Peru should immediately cease any hostile activity 

against its indigenous peoples and instead engage in 

dialogue to address ongoing political conflict between 

state authorities and indigenous peoples. 

Whereas, on February 2, 1994, Peru ratified International 

Labor Organization Convention 169, which grants indigenous peoples the right to consultation on issues pertaining to them; 

Whereas, on September 13, 2007, the Chairman of the U.N. 

Human Rights Council, Luis Enrique Chavez Basagoita, 


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HRES 574 IH 

introduced the text of the Declaration on the Rights of 

Indigenous Peoples to the U.N. General Assembly; 

Whereas that Declaration called upon governments and corporations to seek the ‘‘informed consent’’ of those indigenous peoples before engaging in commercial activities on 

the land of the affected indigenous peoples; 

Whereas Chairman Basagoita, in introducing the Declaration 

on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the U.N. General 

Assembly, noted that indigenous peoples were among the 

most vulnerable; that the process of developing that Declaration had begun in 1982; that representatives of indigenous peoples had taken part in working on the text, 

thus giving legitimacy to the text; that many efforts had 

been made to meet the concerns expressed by various 

Member States of the U.N. on the draft; that as a result 

of such efforts, several changes were made to the text 

which had been duly communicated to U.N. Member 

States and representatives of indigenous peoples; and 

that the changes to the text, which had not undermined 

the protection of indigenous peoples, would help ensure 

the Declaration’s adoption; 

Whereas, on September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the landmark Declaration, bringing to an end nearly 25 years of contentious negotiations 

over the rights of native people to protect their lands and 

resources, and to maintain their unique cultures and traditions; 

Whereas, on June 28, 2008, the National Congress of Peru 

enacted Legislative Decree 1090, which significantly diminished the size of Peru’s Forestry Heritage protection 

system; 


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HRES 574 IH 

Whereas, on June 28, 2008, the National Congress of Peru 

also enacted Legislative Decree 1064, which allowed companies with forestry concessions to change their zoning 

permits through Peru’s central government rather than 

the relevant local government; 

Whereas, on May 9, 2009, Peruvian President Alan Garcia 

declared a 60-day state of emergency in certain regions 

of the country, placed those regions under martial law 

and suspended the constitutional rights of the people in 

the region; 

Whereas, on June 5, 2009, in response to Decrees 1064 and 

1090, indigenous peoples in the northern province of 

Bagua, located in Peru’s region of Amazon, protested the 

anticipated exploitation of their ancestral homelands by 

the Peruvian government and foreign and domestic firms; 

Whereas dozens of people were killed when police officers intervened in the protests; 

Whereas, on June 15, 2009, a coalition of 15 organizations 

delivered a letter to Members of Congress as well as highlevel Obama Administration officials, including Secretary 

of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Advisor General James L. Jones, and U.S. Trade Representative 

Ronald Kirk, calling for the United States ‘‘to take immediate, concrete and public action’’ concerning the ongoing political conflict in Peru between state authorities 

and indigenous peoples; 

Whereas the Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress deemed Legislative Decrees 1090 and 1064 unconstitutional; 

Whereas Peru’s revocation of Legislative Decrees 1090 and 

1064 on June 18, 2009, was a welcome development; and 


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HRES 574 IH 

Whereas the government of Peru as failed to comply with its 

obligations under both the U.N. Declaration on the Right 

of Indigenous Peoples and International Labor Organization Convention 169: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) Peru should immediately cease any hostile 

4 activity against its indigenous peoples and instead 

5 engage in dialogue to address ongoing political con6 flict between state authorities and indigenous peo7 ples; and 

8 (2) Peru should comply with the U.N. declara9 tion on the rights of Indigenous Peoples and with 

10 ILO Convention 169. 

Æ 


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