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Dear Mr Straw,

On the 12th June this year, the UK parliament ratified the free-trade agreement between the European Union and Chile by means of a statutory instrument.

In spite of claims that this agreement will bring economic prosperity to both parties, the reality is that it will only benefit a small section of the Chilean population, as 90 per cent of Chile's exports are raw materials, which bring little added value to the exporting country. The flipside of cheap exports is low wages for workers, no job stability and poor, often hazardous working conditions: repressed workers who try to protest against this or form trade unions are prosecuted.

Although a lot of progress has been made in the area of human rights since the end of the dictatorship, Chile's record is still far from clean. In addition to workers having no rights, the human rights of Chile's indigenous people are also abused. There have been many reports of forced eviction from ancestral lands and arbitrary detention of Mapuche community leaders without charge. The traditional way of life of the Mapuche people is threatened not only by these abuses, but also by the environmental damage caused by the exploitation of the country's natural resources. For example vast areas of native forest are being felled and replaced by single crop farms, eroding fertile land and topsoil. The uncontrolled use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides contaminates land and water supplies and has caused poisoning and birth defects among the Mapuche people.

According to an EU report, "respect for democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law are essential elements of the Agreement (…/…) and social development should go hand in hand with economic development and protection of the environment." However, the Chilean government does not comply at all with these conditions as they have not signed up to the main multilateral environmental agreements, nor Convention 169 of the ILO on Indigenous and Tribal people, of 1989. Unlike with most other Latin American countries, the Chilean constitution does not even recognise the Indigenous people. For this reason, the UK parliament must put pressure on the Chilean government to demonstrate the extent of their respect for the environment and commitment to the principles of human rights, in particular the rights of Indigenous people.

I would appreciate a response from you on this matter, and I would like to know what measures the UK government will be taking in order to alleviate the impact of this agreement on Indigenous people in Chile.

Yours sincerely,

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