“It was a media spectacle, we are not decorative objects”: the natives unhappy with the PreCOP Summit led by Duque

President Iván Duque led the PreCOP on the biodiversity of Leticia, Amazonas in front of world leaders and representatives who have come together to find priority actions including funding mechanisms and sanctions to meet the challenge of protecting ecosystems and combating climate change.

The summit was held from the maloka of the indigenous community Yussy Monilla Amena and brought together, among others, the vice-president and chancellor, Marta Lucía Ramírez, UN Secretary General António Guterres, and the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Elizabeth Maruma Mrema.

However, the Association of Indigenous Cabildos del Trapecio Amazónico (ACITAM) strongly rejected, “The media show led on August 30, 2021 by President Iván Duque and his cabinet and some indigenous colleagues from the community where the PreCOP event on biodiversity was held, to which neither the authorities of our communities nor us as a organization have only been invited who represent this “.

The indigenous community indicated that, in accordance with international and national regulations, Any activity to be carried out in indigenous territories or which may have an impact on their social, cultural and territorial integrity, must be consulted with the peoples concerned. through the implementation of the Prior Consultation or the various existing mechanisms for dialogue and articulation, such as the Permanent Coordination Council.

“We are not decorative objects to embellish governments whose speeches and actions violate our rights by favoring usurpers and grabbers of capital, resources and territories; therefore we repudiate the attitude of the comrades who lent themselves to this event which turned its back on our communities “underlined by ACITAM.

They explained that it has become customary for the national government led by Duque, with the permissiveness of local governments, to organize events and activities in Leticia, disregarding social and community organizations in the area, ignoring the enormous problems they experience on a daily basis. such as lack of access to clean water, poor connectivity, poor health care and the terrible deterioration of urban infrastructure and home communities.

“While the Biodiversity PreCOP event had enough connectivity for the virtual participation of such important figures as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and other high-ranking figures rank in the world, we suffer daily because connectivity is terrible affecting our children’s educational processes “they emphasized.

They added that no initiative to reverse the effects of climate change and protect biodiversity will succeed if it is not accompanied by comprehensive actions to overcome the social injustices that generate poverty and push many people to develop extractive activities to survive.

“An example is the socio-economic crisis in our department of Amazonas, in particular the Amazonian trapeze, which, accompanied by school dropouts caused by the abandonment suffered by our educational establishments, causes an increase in the number of people. and in particular young people linked to drug production activities. . in the neighboring Republic of Peru, as well as the aggravation of micro-trafficking and the uncontrolled consumption of psychoactive substances ”, alerted this community.

The Association of Indigenous Cabildos del Trapecio Amazónico called on Duque to respect their rights and their organizing and consultative bodies, as well as to be receptive to their demands, questions and contributions aimed at building a more just and inclusive society.

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