UPDATE 1-Peru groups file for tribe near Petrolifera block

(Adds comment from rights group, paragraphs 9-10)

By Terry Wade

LIMA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Rights groups on Wednesday said they filed a request with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to protect an indigenous tribe that lives near where Canadian energy firm Petrolifera (PDP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is exploring for oil.

They hope the commission, part of the Organization of American States, will recommend setting aside two areas in the Amazon rain forest for the Cacataibo tribe, which the rights groups say is reclusive and avoids contact with outsiders.

The rights groups propose that 140,000 hectares be protected for the tribe, as areas where they live partially overlap with a 1.2 million square hectares tract of land where Petrolifera has oil exploration rights.

"The tribe should decide if and when it wants contact, otherwise it should be left alone," said Carlos Soria, a lawyer with the Instituto Bien Comun in Peru, one of a half dozen nongovernmental organizations behind the filing.

"The filing isn't to stop all oil exploration, just in areas where the tribe has isolated itself," said Soria. He said members of the tribe could be exposed to deadly diseases from the outside world.

Peru's government is encouraging gas and oil exploration as part of an effort to become energy self-sufficient, but rights groups estimate there are a dozen isolated tribes in Peru's Amazon basin.

Petrolifera said its exploration efforts reflect the interests of the government and local groups.