Cali, Colombia, 28 October 2024 - The indigenous nations and organizations, social organizations and allied institutions gathered at the III Assembly “Amazon Free of Fossil Fuels and all forms of extractivism” held within the framework of the COP16 in the city of Cali, Colombia, declare our firm commitment to defend the Amazon from all forms of extractivism and to protect our territories, which are a source of life for the whole world, not a sacrifice zone for external interests.

For life and against extractivism, we declare that:

1. The Amazon is not for sale. For decades we have protected the water, the forest and the territory, which are much more valuable than oil and gold and all kinds of extracted common goods. We reject that our territories be exploited under the false promise of development, because good living is measured in life, not in economic gains.

2. We demand respect for our right to consent. This right, although recognized, has been systematically ignored by governments and corporations that act without the consent of our peoples. We fight for decisions in which our voices and our self-determination are binding, integral and respected.

3. We reject the contamination and destruction of our Mother Earth. The Amazon has suffered the effects of contamination from oil spills and environmental liabilities. We demand that the States and corporations assume their historical responsibility to settle the ecological debt of the North with the South, and carry out an integral reparation and remediation of the damages, and that international organizations guarantee the processes of justice with our Mother Earth.

4. Extractivism has brought death, not good living. The promises of development based on oil and extractivism have left only destruction in our communities and have taken the lives of human and environmental rights defenders in each of our countries. In addition to criminalization, imprisonment, dispossession and displacement, without achieving justice or real mechanisms to defend and protect their lives. What we need is not only economic compensation but freedom, dignity and safe spaces so that we can live in peace.

5. The climate crisis aggravates impacts in the Amazon. The exploitation of fossil fuels deepens the climate crisis that affects us globally. We know that the main cause of this crisis is the excessive use of fossil fuels and the big oil and gas business. Furthermore, the Amazon is one of the main ecological systems fundamental for life and for the mitigation of the climate crisis. It is necessary to point out and reject false solutions such as carbon credits.

6. We demand the respect and recognition of all victories and popular struggles against extractivism , such as the cases of Yasuní in Ecuador, the Achuar people in Peru, the Zio'bain people in Colombia and other very important ones in the Amazon.