In front of the unification ruling on the fundamental right to prior consultation

In light of the unification ruling on the fundamental right to prior consultation, issued by the honorable Constitutional Court, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) wishes to communicate to the public:

• The ACP reiterates its respect for judicial rulings and decisions and the Social State of Law. It also highlights the importance of the fundamental right to prior consultation of indigenous communities, Afro-descendants, and other ethnic groups.

• We reiterate the commitment of the hydrocarbons industry to work with the various actors in the territory, within the framework of clear and stable conditions and regulations, which allow for the optimal development of projects and the consolidation of trust relationships.

• In light of the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court, we express our concern as we believe it affects legal security, with effects on the normal execution of the projects and/or activities of the hydrocarbons industry that we represent, as well as in various economic sectors.

• It is not clear, for example, why in its decision the Court undermines the value of the administrative act issued by the Ministry of Interior, through which the presence of communities in a territory is certified or not, and furthermore, endorses that at any stage or phase of the project the consultation proceeds, both of already consulted communities and of new communities that may appear in the territory after the start of a project, thus increasing instability and uncertainty for companies.

• Among the aspects of the decision that generate concern is also the fact that the Court would be granting a veto right in favor of the communities, regarding the concept of consent and not agreement; and in relation to the possibility of suspending a project in the case of non-approval by the communities. Such circumstances imply that the fundamental right to prior consultation is distorted, even acting against what is established in ILO Convention 169 and the repeated jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court.

• We recognize that the Court's decision responds to the absence of a statutory law on prior consultation, in which regard it is pertinent to recall that from the industry we have been the most interested in regulating this procedure. Thus, the ACP along with other business associations (ACM, Acolgen, Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure, Andeg, and Naturgas) worked together for more than five years on the development of a project of this nature, which sought to comprehensively regulate that right and contained the most important aspects for its application. This project was presented to the Government of President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón; however, despite multiple working meetings with the Ministry of Interior, it was not presented to the Congress of the Republic.

• The ACP makes a respectful call to the National Government and especially to the Ministry of Interior to urgently process a statutory bill that comprehensively regulates the fundamental right of communities to prior consultation, establishes clear definitions and obligations, contributes to legal security, the harmonization of relations with communities, and the optimal development of projects of interest to the country.