The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures to the indigenous communities of Cuninico and San Pedro in Loreto department, both affected by the oil spills of June and November 2014. The request to the IACHR was made by the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos with the support of Earthrights International and the Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL).

The ruling instructs the Peruvian government to take the following measures:

  • to carry out medical tests to determine the levels of metal contamination on the communities affected in order to provide adequate healthcare, according to international standards, paying particular attention to children;
  • to guarantee access to clean water and food considered safe according to international guidelines provided by the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization;
  • to agree with and inform the beneficiaries and their representatives the measures to be adopted to mitigate the negative effects to human health caused by the oil spills; and
  • to inform the Commission within 15 days of receiving this request about the measures taken to adopt the precautionary measures outlined, and to inform periodically on their implementation.

For the full IACHR resolution see here.