UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) — An independent United Nations human rights expert on Wednesday urged the Peruvian Government and indigenous leaders in the country’s southeast to hold peaceful dialogue to resolve the deadly conflict over mining and oil development.

“It is necessary that all parties respect the right to life and other fundamental human rights and ensure that the legitimate protests of indigenous peoples to defend their rights, and the response by law enforcement, do not create situations that endanger the lives and safety of protesters and other citizens,” James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said in a statement.

Anaya, who reports to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, called on the Government to clarify the deadly clashes in the southeastern city of Juliaca on 24 June, “and to proceed diligently to investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible” for the deaths of the five people.

Protesters were trying to take over the Manco Cápac International Airport in Juliaca when security forces opened fire in an attempt to prevent the crowd from tearing down the fence. Thousands of residents have been urging the government to implement a recovery project for the Ramis River, which is seriously affected by mining.

Media reports said that indigenous Aymara people living in the department of Puno, close to Peru’s border with Bolivia, have been protesting for weeks over mining operations in their area, saying it will pollute their ancestral lands.

Following the deadly clashes, the Peruvian government agreed to put an end to the private mining project in an attempt to end the strike that has affected the department of Puno.