The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) denied having favored the interests of the oil industry in Colombia over those of disadvantaged communities, in response to accusations launched by activists and indigenous groups.
“We reject the insinuation that we put the interests of extractive industry companies above the needs of poor and vulnerable communities whom we support and with whom we work,” he said in a statement.
The UNDP thus came to the step of a report published Wednesday by the American newspaper The New York Timeswhich accuses the UN agency of having “allied with hydrocarbon companies to crush the opposition and keep the oil flowing” in the Colombian Amazon.
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Information echoes the protests of the indigenous Siona people that led the UNDP to back down on a project in collaboration with the oil company GeoPark and analyzes the agency’s links with that industry, which conflict with the United Nations principles of replace fossil fuels with renewable energy in the framework of the fight against the climate crisis.
The Times emphasizes that this agreement “is an example of the way in which one of the world’s largest sustainable development organizations partners with pollutantseven with those who sometimes work against the interests of the communities the agency is supposed to help.”
The report, which cites internal documents and interviews with officialsensures that UNDP “has quelled local opposition to drilling”has done “business analysis for the industry” and has worked “so that it is easier for companies to continue operating in sensitive areas.
In its response, UNDP said that it continually reviews all of its relationships with companies in this field to ensure they help vulnerable populations and that they are in line with the energy transition strategies of the country in question.
In this sense, the agency pointed out that the world must end its dependence on fossil fuelsbut for this an energy transition is necessary, and he considered that developing countries cannot be criticized for using their natural resources to invest in development programs.
“UNDP works to help developing countries to make that transition,” he stressed in his statement, in which he also insists on its total commitment to indigenous peoples.
The controversy is mainly linked to the signing in 2021 of an agreement between the UNDP and GeoPark in order to generate employment opportunities in areas of Colombia highly affected by the covid-19 crisis.
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According to the UNDP itself, the collaboration was canceled less than a month after its announcement due to protests brought by indigenous communities and non-governmental organizations that oppose resource extraction on the lands of the Siona people.
“The concerns raised caused the deal was canceled before the project started“explained a spokesman for the agency.
