The malocas (communal houses) of uncontacted tribes in Peru, who could be wiped out if the bill goes ahead. © MinCul Peru

Dear Jack,

One of the gravest threats to uncontacted tribes anywhere is currently unfolding in Peru, and your support is urgently needed.

A section of Peru’s Congress with ties to the oil and gas industry has introduced a bill that would devastate the country’s uncontacted tribes if it’s approved.

Peruvian politics is in crisis, and the group of lawmakers hope to take advantage of the chaos to get the bill passed into law with minimal scrutiny.

The bill aims to:

    •    Make it possible to revoke already-established Indigenous reserves for uncontacted and recently-contacted tribes (who are collectively known in Peru by the acronym PIACI).
    •    Open the territories of uncontacted tribes to oil and gas drilling, logging and mining.
    •    Block the creation of desperately-needed reserves for uncontacted tribes whose territories currently have no protection.

The bill’s consequences would be so serious Indigenous organizations there are calling it the Genocide Bill.

Daniel Vela, a Matsés leader, says, “We’ve seen and heard the uncontacted people, we know they’re there. Those who are backing this bill talk about ‘development’, but it’s really the destruction of the forests we live in.”

Please email Peru’s authorities, urging them to stop the bill in its tracks.