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1. The Issue
Members of the U'wa Indian community have fought vigorously for the past 5 years to block Colombia's most important and controversial oil-drilling project declaring it could lead to cultural destruction and environmental disaster. California-based Occidental Petroleum Corporation, has been relentless in its efforts to occupy the U'wa territory in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Cocuy estimating that the Samore Block region may contain up to 1.5 billion barrels of oil. Ecopetrol, Colombia's state-owned oil company and powerholder of all hydrocarbon resources in Colombia, is in the center of this controversy as well because it is partners with Occidental Petroleum Inc. This is a serious concern for the Colombian government who fear that if new discoveries of oil are not made, Colombia faces the possibility of becoming an oil importer by 2004.
2. Description
A civil war involving right wingers and leftists, guerrilla groups, and the Colombian Armed Forces has ravaged the country for almost 40 years. Big businesses, wealthy landowners, and the 'narcobourgeois' have waged a war to reclaim territory now held by guerrillas (FARC and ELN), who currently control 40%-50% of the country. In recent months, the conflict between the varying sects has become a deeper concern for Washington's senior officials due to the uncontrollable political violence and the sharp increase in the production of the coca plant, the key ingredient used to produce cocaine. A new study indicated that in 1998, Colombia grew more coca than half of the worldwide total-480 tons. The Clinton Administration recently proposed a $1.7 billion plan to aid Colombia in combating the spread of drugs and leftist insurgency. Inspite of efforts by various government representatives and non-governmental organizations to halt the approval of this aid package, the House of Representative's approved the full emergency supplemental aid package on March 30th. Colombia is important to United State's interests because of its strategic location. It neighbors Panama, where the United States's recently turned over the Panama canal, and, it borders oil-rich Venezuela and Ecuador. 'Plan Colombia'
Another key actor in Colombia's civil war is the drug cartels that are famed for being sponsored by the right wing faction as well as large businesses and elite landowners. The narcotraffickers, with the help of paramilitary forces have harbored the wave of violence towards guerrillas and Colombian civilians in their quest to reclaim or steal land to use for coca production. Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, controlling roughly 80% of the world market. The vast majority of these drugs are produced for export, primarily to the United States. Today an estimated US $5 billion is brought into the United States per year.
The Colombian Armed Forces struggle against the guerrillas to reclaim territory and are known to have paramilitary troops working for them to perform the majority of the assassinations, often times killing innocent victims. In recent reports, both released in March of this year, the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Human Rights Watch found substantial evidence of military commanders collaborating with paramilitary forces in Colombia See Human Rights Watch .
In April of 1992, Occidental Petroleum signed a contract with the
Colombian government for oil exploration on the U'wa's traditional
territory. Three years later the U'was discovered that they were not
consulted prior to occupying their reservation, sparking a bitter legal battle
Native Peoples Talks. The U'wa-Occidental fight
began in 1995, when the 5,000 member Indian community sued Oxy for not
consulting it before obtaining government permission to conduct preliminary
tests in the area. The battle drew international attention the following
year when the indians threatened to committ mass suicide by jumping off a
1400 ft cliff if the company proceeded with the project.
Once a tribe of 20,000, the U'was' original territory stretched from Southern Venezuela into northeastern Colombia. In an attempt to resolve the dispute last year, the Colombian government increased the size of the U'was' territory from 150,000 acres to 500,000, thereby significantly reducing the area where Occidental could explore for oil. Inspite of this, the government gave Oxy a license to drill just 500 yards outside the new U'wa boundaries Colombian Government Negotiations. The U'wa indians mobilized and earned the empathy of many international organizations who helped them campaign against the invasion. A Colombian court ordered Occidental Petroleum to halt all work on the oil site stating that mining for oil on the site would violate "fundamental rights" of the U'wa people U'wa victory. The president of Ecopetrol, Alberto Calderon, was outraged by the Judge's ruling but believed that the verdict would be overturned on appeal.
Occidental Petroleum , as well as other multinational oil companies, have faced and will continue to face obstacles not only by native indian tribes but by the guerrilla forces who continuously bomb oil pipelines as a form of protest against the excessive penetration of foreign developers in Colombia.
3. Related Cases
| Burma | Guyana | Iko | Kazakh |
| Ecuador | Colombia | Penan | Abusmusa |
| Ogoni | Bolcoca | Amazon | Rwanda |
| Bolivia | Colcoca | Azeri | Niger |
4. Draft Author: April 11, 2000
5. Discourse and Status: AGREE and COMPLETE
6. Forum and Scope: Colombia and UNILATERAL
7. Decision Breadth: Colombia and United States
8. Legal Standing: Law
In 1997, the Colombian constitutional court ruled in favor of the U'was petition to nullify the first environmental license for the project. The Colombian Council of State later overturned the decision on the basis that the U'wa were consulted on more than 30 occassions prior to the granting of the license (U.S. News, February 14).
Law 20 of 1969 and Decree 2310 of 1974, gave Ecopetrol, the state-owned Colombian oil company, power to control all hydrocarbon resources through direct operation or association contracts for the exploration and mining of crude oil. Ecopetrol has signed more than 360 contracts with oil companies. Currently, there are 73 contracts in operation, one of which includes Occidental Petroleum. In 1970, an agreement was designed and set forth to encompass the key features of the some of the best international petroleum agreements dubbed the Colombian Association Contract Model. This model includes royalty payments of the concession sets while production is divided as in the Production Sharing Contracts. Ecopetrol pays a percentage of development costs as if it were a joint venture. Recent changes were made to this agreement to answer the need to balance the distribution of profits between Colombia and its business partners, such as Oxy. During the exploration phase of the Association Contract, which last 6 years, the associate commits to performing exploration work at own risk and expense. In the event that discovery were to occur, Ecopetrol reimburses 50% of investments to the development of the new field. A recent law eliminated the 25% surcharge on income tax and oil fields discovered after January 1995. This law also established a gradual reduction in remittance tax currently 12% Colombia's Petro-Giant Laws.
9. Geographic Locations
South America
Western South America
Colombia
10. Sub-National Factors: Yes
The U'wa fear the violence plaguing many oil-producing regions of Colombia where leftist guerrillas bomb oil pipelines and the government militarized zones to protect them from future sabotages. In February of this year, ELN forces blew up the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, the second largest pipeline in Colombia, and were suspected of bombing another pipeline, the Oleoducto de Colombia pipeline, a few hours later. The ELN is categoric in its opposition to foreign investment in so called strategic industries. In November 1999, it issued the following communique in response to government plans to privatize two electricity companies: "If ISA and ISAGEN (the electricity companies) are transferred to private ownership, they will be declared permanent objectives of our legitimate sabotage." (Oil and Gas Journal, January 17, 2000). In 1998, Occidental's original partner in the Samore Block, Royal Dutch/Shell, pulled out of the project noting that it didn't want "another Nigeria". Large operators such as BP Amoco PLC have scaled back earlier investments plans, arguing that security concerns make them unviable. Some oil companies have left the country while others are reluctant to enter the fray (Oil and Gas Journal, January 17, 2000).
| Month | Foreign | Local |
| January | 3 | 3 |
| February | 15 | 4 |
| March | 26 | 5 |
| April | 5 | - |
| May | 3 | 1 |
| June | 9 | - |
| July | 6 | 1 |
| August | 2 | - |
| September | 5 | 5 |
| October | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 76 | 20 |
11. Type of Habitat: Temperate
Tropical along the coast and eastern plains. Cooler in highlands.
12. Type of Measure: Regulatory Ban
13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact
15. Trade Product Identification:
Oil Oxy’s net oil production in Colombia for 1999 approximated 43 thousand of
barrels per day. “Gross production from the Cano Limon field averaged 125,000 barrels of oil per
day during 1999, compared with the 135,000 in 1998.” Occidental drilled ten successful wells during
1999. The U'wa project if processed by the Colombian Courts will be the eleventh.
Colombia Oil Production.
16. Economic Data: Records
indicated that the average sales
price of oil in the U.S. rose from $12.06 in 1998 to $15.81 in 1999.
17. Impact of Trade Restriction: Low
18. Industry Sector: Oil and Gas
19. Exporters and Importers: Oil shipments
represent 30% of total export earnings. For the first time since 1990,
oil exports surpassed coffee exports. An 18.8% increase
in export value, reflected a 65% surge in oil exports See World Oil
20. Environmental Problem Type:
Waste, Oil The U'was fear that the Oxy oil
project may destroy their habitat and living area
because of the historical spills that in the past have poisoned their lands. Occidental's Cano Limon
waste treatment plant was designed to handle 250,000 barrel of waste per day. It is rumored that
the plant was processing over 300,000 barrels per day at its inception. Since it was completed, it is
estimated that Occidental's Cano Limon oil pipeline (North of the U'wa region) has spilled
approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil into nearby lakes, rivers, soil,
and precious biological reserves. Not only is the drilling of oil directly
harmful to land, it is destructive
to the forests which are cleared for exploration and production of oil
U'wa Environmental Concerns.
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
10% of the world's biodiversity is present in Colombia. It
ranks 7th
among all countries in absolute diversity.
Species:
Type: Habitat
Diversity: 22. Resource Impact and Effect:
Low and Product
23. Urgency and Lifetime:
High and 100's of Years
24. Substitutes:
Alternative Energy
25. Culture: Yes
The U'wa are a community that have lived for
thousands of years in the forests of the Colombian Andes. Under their culture, they believe that the
land that has sustained them for centuries is sacred and should therefore
be protected Rainforest Action Network.
Due to this
adoration for their environment, the U'wa's vowed to commit collective suicide
if the Oxy project went forward. There is a 300-year-old precedent behind
this suicide threat. It is believed that during the 17th century a group of U'was plunged themselves
from a cliff in protest of the colonization by a group of Spanish
missionaries and tax collector's. See Colombia -Native People's Talks.
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No
27. Human Rights: Yes
Throughout Colombia, oil and violence are
closely tied. Colombia's left-wing guerrilla groups continuously attack the
oil industry installations because they are viewed as strategic targets.
Occidental's Cano Limon, which has been attacked more than 600 times over
the course of 12 years, is an excellenct example of the connection
between oil and violence in Colombia. According to Rainforest Action Network,
in 1996, "there were 38 assassinations, 18 massacres, 31 incident's of
torture, 44
kidnappings, 151 illegal detentions, 2,360 incident's of harassment, and
150 individuals who were displaced." In March of last year, three U'was
supporters from the U.S.- Terence Freitas,
Ingrid Washinawotok, and Laheehae Gay were kidnapped and killed.
The FARC assumed responsibility for the murders Webactive.
The Struggle for economic and political power has
subjected civilians to daily violence, especially those individuals who own
arable lands or live in areas
of strategic value- these groups have become the target for exploitation and
mass displacement. Uraba and Rio Sucio, areas known for banana
plantations and coal mining, have been the regions to suffer most from
displacement. The inhabitants of that area have abandoned their homes
fearing their lives. It is estimated that 1.6 million people have been
displaced within Colombia and that roughly 288,000 persons were
forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of the political
violence during 1999 alone. The Advisory Committee for Human Rights
and Displacements (CODHES) maintained that 65% of internally displaced
persons became permanent and the majority had lost
access to health care, employment, and education. Displaced Persons
Support Group reported that as a result
of the violence, over
1 million people were internally displaced between 1995-1999.
State Department
The U'wa, like most peasant and indigenous populations, have fallen
victim
of Colombia's civil strife, forcing them to flee their
lands because of violence, colonization, or exposure to foreign diseases-
yet another internally displaced statistic.
Political violence is responsible for virtually all the displacement in Colombia.
The groups primarily responsible for this violence are right wing
paramilitary forces, the armed forces, and left-wing guerrilla groups. Of
the three, the paramilitary forces are the main causes of displacement.
British Petroleum, another multinational oil giant which is
operating in the Casanare region of the country, has been linked to
the training and arming of Colombian military units that have been tied to
massacres and other serious human rights violations.
28. Relevant Literature
Country Reports in Human Rights Practices 1999 - http://www.state.gov
Colombian Government Trade Bureau -
http://www.coltrade.org/31.htm
Occidental Petroleum -
http://www.oxy.com
World Oil - http://www.worldoil.com
World Conservation Monitoring Center -
http://www.wcmc.org.uk
U'wa Campaign - http://www.ran.org/ran/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/oxy/
uwa_facts.html
Inter Press Service - Colombia's Native Peoples Talks
Oil and Gas Journal.Violence, Crime Continue to Cast Shadow Over
Future Oil Investment in Colombia, January 17th, 2000: Vol 98, pp 32-37.
By, John Wade.
Bethel, Leslie. Latin American Politics and Society Since 1930,
New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
New York Times, U.S. Antidrug Plan Faces Skepticism, Tim Golden,
February 6, 2000
United States News, the U'was' Last Stand , Kirk Semple, February 14,
2000
Washington Post, In Colombia, a Dispute Fueled by Oil, Steven Dudley,
February 20, 2000
http://www.moles.org/uwa/
u'wa/p1.html
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/oxy/uwa_facts.html
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/co.html
http://
www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/index.html
V. Environment Clusters
Species Group
Total Species
Mammals
360
Birds
1,721
Reptiles
585
Amphibians
591
Higher Plants
50,000
Total
5,733 Source: World Conservation Monitoring Center
VI. Other Factors
Webpages:
Periodicals:
Books:
Newspapers:
Images