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Colombia:
Constitutional decision over Forestry Law awards victory to social
organizations
On 28 March 2006,
in the midst of strong pressure from the Government and the timber
industry, Law 1021 was adopted in Colombia, better known as the
“Forestry Law” (see WRM Bulletin No. 105), enabling major timber
investors to have easy and privileged access to the country’s
forests, thus compromising the future of these forests, both public
and those belonging to Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities.
In 2007, the “Public
Interest Rights Group of the University of the Andes,” with support
from a wide range of social sectors in Colombia and internationally,
filed a lawsuit against the Forestry Law as being unconstitutional.
On 23 January of
the present year, the Constitutional Tribunal declared the Forestry
Law to be null and void, thus giving reason to the Indigenous
peoples and Afro-Colombian communities which had repeatedly denounced
the unconstitutional nature of this law as it did not comply with
the requirement of consulting them and allowing them to participate
in the process of formulation and adoption of the law.
In a communiqué to
public opinion signed by numerous Colombian social organizations
(1) it is pointed out that: “This sentence again sets up a basic
safeguard for the integrity of ethnic minorities, contesting and
curbing the Government’s attempts at foregoing prior consultation
and the concept that attempts to convince us that the liquidation
of collective rights and of the cultural, social and economic
integrity of ethnic peoples and communities is irreversible.”
According to the
Colombian group “Semillas”: “This decision of the Constitutional
Tribunal has awarded victory to all us Colombians who believe
that a more just and sustainable world is possible. This triumph
opens a window of hope and recharges the forces of society’s resistance
processes and struggles in general in order to face this model
of privatization of all public assets and ransacking of collective
territories.” (2).
This is a victory
of the struggle of numerous Colombian social organizations, that
have succeeded in obtaining this decision from the Constitutional
Tribunal, which sets down jurisprudence. It is time for celebration.
Article
based on: (1) “Comunicado a la Opinión
Pública. La liberación del derecho a la consulta previa. La Corte
Constitucional, declara inexequible la Ley General Forestal, enero
23 de 2008”, (Communiqué to Public Opinion. Liberation
of the right to prior consultation. The Constitutional Tribunal
declares the General Forestry Law to be inconstitutional, 23 January
2008, sent by Diego Alejandro Cardona, Censat Agua Viva, e-mail:
La Corte Constitucional declara inexequible la Ley
Forestal”(The Constitutional Tribunal declares the Forestry Law
to be inconstitutional), Grupo Semillas,
http://www.semillas.org.co/sitio.shtml?apc=I1----&x=20155467
