Civil society organizations filed an amicus brief…in Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice in support of a challenge by indigenous people to the environmental review of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. [They] argue that the Panamanian government violated international law by approving the project without adequately consulting or obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of the affected NgÓ“be-Buglé indigenous peoples, and without adequately reviewing the environmental impacts to their lands…Once completed, the dam is projected to flood homes and religious, archaeological and cultural sites in the NgÓ“be-Buglé territories…Following a visit with indigenous communities in Panama last month, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya concluded that the government should have ensured adequate consultation with the Ngäbe people before authorizing the project…