GENEVA (KFGO) - The United Nations is getting involved in the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy.
A UN Special Envoy for Indigenous Peoples is formally asking the United States to halt construction on the four-state pipeline.
The UN's Victoria Tauli-Corpuz says the pipeline "poses a significant risk to the drinking water of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe." In a written statement, the envoy says the tribe was denied access to information and excluded from consultations.
Tauli-Corpuz says the federal government should "undertake a thorough review of compliance with international standards" and obtain the tribe's "free and informed consent."
The envoy also claims that peaceful pipeline protesters have been “reportedly intimidated, harassed and prosecuted.”