Joint declaration from The Povincial indigenous community and Cerrejón

The Traditional Authorities, the Governor’s Council of the Provincial Indigenous Reservation, and Cerrejón would like to state they have reached an agreement in regard to what the company has been ordered to carry out in Ruling T-614/19. Acting within the framework of the practices and customs of the Wayuu ethnic group and based on direct and respectful dialogue, the agreement was reached by building mutual trust and with an understanding of their proximity to each other.

The Provincial indigenous community has come back to the understanding of the initial agreement, signed in November 2020. We have made adjustments to it and have ratified the entire text, which makes this an historical milestone between the parties.

The improvements in this agreement are the result of consensus among the members of the Reservation, which saw participation from the Traditional Authorities as well as the Council, leaders, and the full assembly of the community.

The parties agree that, with execution of the mutual commitments contained in the signed agreements, Cerrejón is in full compliance with what is ordered in Ruling T-614/19. That is, with the resolutions that correspond to Cerrejón and cover other programs that, despite not being part of the ruling, were included for being of great importance and to the general benefit of those living on the indigenous reservation.

The Provincial Indigenous Reservation also states that its decision to sign and execute the agreement with Cerrejón is made in exercise of their fundamental right to autonomy, reconfirming their ability to make decisions and without intervention from third parties. In this regard, they do not recognize actions other than their own or statements that do not come from their legitimate authorities.

The Provincial Indigenous Reservation and Cerrejón would like to publicly invite the Office of the Ombudsman, in his capacity as President of the Technical Commission ordered by the Constitutional Court in Ruling T-614, and other national and regional authorities that form part of this commission, to actively participate in monitoring the execution of these agreements in order to fully comply with what has been set out by the Constitutional Court in the aforementioned ruling.

The Provincial Indigenous Reservation and Cerrejón will continue to work together and build trust between themselves in order to deal with other issues of common interest.