PetroTal's response to the report "No More Violence: Unmasking Canada at the UN Universal Periodic Review"
...The report in question exhibits a clear bias against extractive companies with inaccurate and even false allegations and information, particularly when addressing the company's social conflicts and the events of August 2020. PetroTal initiated its operations in Block 95 in 2018 and has always respected internationally recognized human rights for all individuals, especially those of our workers and the population in our influence area...
...[W]e have due diligence processes and a risk prevention and identification system, as well as effective participation and surveillance mechanisms, among others. Not to mention our social initiatives aimed at the progress and well-being of all the localities, communities, and hamlets in the district...
One of our notable initiatives is the creation of the Puinahua District Development Fund (Fondo 2.5), a PetroTal initiative to finance projects that improve the quality of life and opportunities for the entire population in a remote area with 79% of basic needs to be addressed...
In 2019, a group of residents of Bretaña, the capital of Puinahua, presented PetroTal with a list of demands that were the responsibility of the State (water supply, electricity, healthcare, land titles, construction of a football stadium, among others). The protests were never related to PetroTal's social or environmental performance, as it was evident that these were the responsibility of the State...PetroTal has been supporting the change of the Petroleum Royalty Law to ensure fair distribution to all districts and provinces producing oil...
...On August 8, 2020, amid the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, protesters from other locations who illegally occupied Petroperú facilities at Pumping Station No. 5 incited residents of Bretaña to demand the "handover of operations" of Block 95, armed with firearms and sharp objects. The protesters had warned the Peruvian state that if their demands were not met, they would move to Block 95, operated by PetroTal...
It is false that PetroTal had armed security personnel who used force, and the bodies of the three deceased individuals did not remain on the company's premises for hours. This is evidenced by PetroTal's cooperation in the investigation, as it is not under investigation itself. The use of force to repel the violent attacks with firearms was carried out by the National Police...
...[I]t would have been desirable for the report to include the version of both parties, or at the very least, to somehow contrast the claims made by the complainants...