FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 7, 2024
Media Contacts:
F. Javier Ruíz, Earth Law Center, (jruiz@earthlaw.org, +52 55 2403 3277)
Juan Carlos Ruíz, Instituto Defensa Legal, (jruiz@idl.org.pe, +51 997 521 685)
Iquitos, Perú — On May 9th, the Indigenous Kukama Women Federation (Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana), through its lawyers Instituto Defensa Legal, will appear before the Superior Court of Justice of Loreto to defend a recent landmarking ruling that recognized the Marañón River’s Rights and the Kukama women as its guardians.
The Superior Court of Justice of Loreto has the opportunity to make history confirming the decision.
Petroperú, the Peruvian Ministry of Environment, and the National Water Authority, all defendants in the case, filed appeals against the ruling. Women from the Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation will participate in the hearing, providing their testimony about the socio-environmental conflict they have suffered for decades.
Additionally, international environmental experts will give their opinion based on their amicus curiae brief, with Earth Law Center (ELC) pleading its amicus curiae brief’s recommendations. The intervention of ELC will be led by Javier Ruiz, specialist in environmental policy and climate change of the Latin America Legal Program.
On May 8th, the plaintiff will organize a press conference at the Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura de Loreto, located at malecón Tarapacá 382, Iquitos. The event will also be broadcast live, through the Facebook page Radio La Voz de la Selva. The participants of the conference will include key actors in this case, including Miguel Angel Cadenas, Bishop of Iquitos; lawyers Javier Ruiz, Juan Carlos Ruiz, and Maritza Quispe; and the Kukama Indigenous activists Emilsen Flores and Gilda Fasabi.
Earth Law Center is a nonprofit organization with offices in the United States, Mexico, and Canada that promotes the application of the Rights of Nature at the local and international level, creating alliances with local organizations for the recognition and promulgation of laws that recognize the inherent rights of rivers, oceans, and coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. ELC seeks to make a paradigm shift, fighting for the formal recognition of the Rights of Nature to exist, thrive, and evolve. ELC strives to grant ecosystems the same rights that people and corporations have, allowing the defense of their rights before national and international courts, not only for the benefits of people but also, for Nature herself.
International Rivers since 1985, is dedicated to the protection of rivers and defending the rights of communities that depend on them. They work to stop destructive projects in rivers and promote energy and water supply solutions for a sustainable planet. Rivers are vital to sustain life on land.
Instituto Defensa Legal is a civil society institution founded in 1983, whose purpose is the promotion and defense of human rights, democracy, and peace in Peru and Latin America.
Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana Federation is a group of Indigenous women who have been protectors of the Marañón River for many years. They are currently in court to legally become guardians of the Rights of the River.