Human Rights

Organization of American States requests immediate suspension of Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights considered that Indigenous Peoples must be consulted BEFORE the dam’s construction begins. Altamira, Brazil / Washington, D.C., USA - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), part of the Organization of American States (OAS), has officially requested the Brazilian Government to immediately suspend the Belo Monte Dam Complex in the Amazonian state of Para, citing the project's potential harm to the rights of traditional communities living within the Xingu river basin. According to the IACHR, the Brazilian Government must comply with legal obligations to undertake a consultation process that is "free, prior, informed, of good faith and culturally appropriate" with indigenous peoples threatened by the project before further work can proceed. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs must inform the OAS within 15 days regarding urgent measures undertaken to comply with the Commission's resolution. The IACHR's decision responds to a complaint submitted in November 2010 on behalf of local, traditional communities of the Xingu river basin. The complaint was presented by the Xingu Alive Forever Movement - (MXVPS), the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), the Prelacy of the Roman Catholic Church in the Xingu region, the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), the Pará Society for the Defense of Human Rights (SDDH), Global Justice and the Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). According to the complaint, there were no appropriate consultations with affected indigenous and riverine communities regarding the impacts of the mega-dam project. The document argues that the dam would cause irreversible social and environmental damage, including forced displacement of communities, while threatening one of the Amazon's most valuable areas for biodiversity conservation. "By recognizing the rights of indigenous people to prior and informed consultations, the IACHR is requesting that the Brazilian Government stop the licensing and construction of the Belo Monte dam project to ensure their right to decide," said Roberta Amanajas, SDDH lawyer. "Continuing this project without proper consultations would constitute a violation of international law. In that case, the Brazilian Government would be internationally liable for the negative impacts caused by the dam." The IACHR also requests Brazil to adopt "vigorous and comprehensive measures" to protect the lives and personal integrity of isolated indigenous peoples in the Xingu river basin, as well as effective measures to prevent the spread of diseases and epidemics among traditional communities threatened by the project. "The IACHR's decision sends a clear message that the Brazilian Government's unilateral decisions to promote economic growth at any cost are a violation of our country's laws and the human rights of local traditional communities," said Antonia Melo, MXVPS coordinator. "Our leaders no longer can use economic "development" as an excuse to ignore human rights and to push for projects of destruction and death to our natural heritage and to the peoples of Amazon, as is the case of Belo Monte." "The OAS's decision is a warning to the Federal Government and a call to Brazilian society to broadly discuss the highly authoritarian and predatory development model being implemented in this country," said Andressa Caldas, Global Justice director. Andressa recalls examples of human rights violations caused by other infrastructure projects within the federal government's Accelerated Growth Program (PAC). "There are numerous cases involving the forced displacement of families without compensation, as well as serious environmental impacts, social disruption of communities, rising violence in areas surrounding construction sites and poor working conditions." Criticism of the Belo Monte dam comes not only from civil society organizations, and local communities, but also from scientists, researchers, and government institutions. The Federal Public Prosecutor's office in Pará state has already filed ten civil lawsuits against the mega-project that are still awaiting final decisions. "I am very moved by this news," said Sheyla Juruna, an Indigenous leader of the Juruna community in Altamira. "Today, more than ever, I am sure that we were right to expose the Brazilian Government - including the federal judicial system - for violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in the Xingu and of all those who are fighting together to protect life and a healthy environment. We will maintain our firm resistance against the implementation of the Belo Monte Dam Complex." The IACHR's decision is founded on international law established by the American Convention on Human Rights, Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights (UNDRIP), and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as the Brazilian Constitution itself.

Organization of American States questions Belo Monte Dam project

Human rights body of the OAS solicits official inquiry while Amazonian communities stage major protests. Altamira, Brazil - The Organization of American States (OAS) officially requested the Brazilian government to clarify information on the Belo Monte Dam’s licensing process, which moved forward without ensuring proper consultation with local indigenous groups. This request comes amid heightening local and international controversy around plans to construct the dam complex on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS, solicited the request in response to a complaint filed by several organizations including the Xingu Alive Forever Movement (MXVPS), the Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) and the Para Society for the Defense of Human Rights (SDDH), and supported by another 40 institutions advocating for the rights of indigenous and traditional communities of the Xingu River basin. The complaint demands that the Brazilian government immediately suspend the licensing process for the Belo Monte Dam, stop construction of the project, and guarantee the human rights of affected people and communities. The IACHR gave the government ten days to clarify the steps taken to ensure free, prior and informed consultations with local peoples and the legality of the dams "partial license," among other issues. The request is the first step in a longer proceeding in which local communities are alleging human rights violations stemming from the proposed dam. "When Brazil signs a treaty, it is obliged to comply with its resolutions," said Roberta Amanajás, a lawyer for the Para Society for the Defense of Human Rights (SDDH). "As a signatory to the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, Brazil must recognize its legitimacy to examine cases such as Belo Monte." "With huge development projects like the Belo Monte Dam Complex, all governments must be held accountable for protecting human rights and the environment of local communities," said Jacob Kopas, a lawyer with AIDA. "The Inter-American Commission has already recognized this in other cases and has urged the suspension of a large dam project in Panama and as large gold mine in Guatemala." Meanwhile, hundreds of fisherman staged a protest on Friday in the city of Altamira to show their opposition to a project that could destroy their livelihoods by decimating the region's migratory fish species. The event, blessed by Dom Erwin Kräutler, Bishop of the Xingu and historic opponent of the hydroelectric plant, was marked by dozens of fishing boats setting out on the Xingu River to symbolize the importance of defending the river and preserving their way of life. "The fisherfolk of the Xingu are committed to organizing in defense of their river," said Kräutler. "From it they pull sustenance for themselves and their families, while their hard work supplies all of the cities along the Xingu. It was very powerful to see them set out in large numbers to fish last week. Their return today has shown that the river is alive and that they want to see it remain alive forever." Today, dozens more fishing boats from surrounding communities affected by the dam have joined the protesters in a show of solidarity, where they will greet the fishermen on their return and share their catch to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers.

Victory: Crucitas gold mine cancelled for environmental harm

Indigenous and Riverbank Communities Call on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Suspend the Massive Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 11, 2010 Media Contacts:   Astrid Puentes, AIDA - +1 510 984 4610, [email protected] Andressa Caldas, Justiça Global: +55 21 2544 2320 / 21 8187 0794, [email protected] Renata Pinheiro, Xingu Alive Forever Movement: + 55 93 9172 9776, [email protected] Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch: +1 510-666-7565, [email protected]   As the government prepares to issue the dam’s construction license, communities urge the Commission to denounce illegalities in licensing and violations of human rights   Washington, D.C., Brazil- Today international and Brazilian human rights and environmental organizations submitted a formal petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), denouncing grave and imminent violations upon the rights of indigenous and riverine communities that will be affected by the construction of Belo Monte Dam Complex on the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon. Signed by the Xingu Alive Forever Movement as well as the representatives of affected communities – the Conselho Indigenista Missionário (CIMI), Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira (COIAB), Prelazia do Xingu, Sociedade Paraense de Direitos Humanos (SDDH), Justiça Global, and the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) – with the support of over twenty organizations and social movements, the petition urgently calls on the Commission to adopt “precautionary measures” that would compel the Brazilian government to halt plans to build the dam, slated to be world’s 3rd largest.   The petition documents the Brazilian government’s violation of international treaties, ignoring the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples from the lower Xingu Basin, including the Arroz Cru, Arara da Volta Grande, Juruna do Km 17 and Ramal pas Penas communities. It also highlights major threats posed by the Belo Monte Dam, including forced displacement of communities without insuring their free, prior and informed consent, threats to food security and access to drinking water.   “The government claims that the Juruna will not be affected, but we do not believe this. We have not been consulted and we do not want the government to speak for us,” said Sheyla Juruna, member of a Juruna indigenous community that will be affected by Belo Monte. “We are against the Belo Monte Dam and we are committed to fight with our bodies and souls to defend our lives and the life of our river.”   The IACHR petition comes on the same week as prosecutors from Brazil’s Federal Public Ministry (MPF) sent a document to Brazil’s environmental agency IBAMA advising that the agency not issue an installation license until the dam-building consortium Norte Energia can comply with an obligatory set of social and environmental conditions. Norte Energia and the Brazilian government have been pushing IBAMA to issue a “partial” installation license, which would allow the project to break ground without complying with legally binding conditions on the dam’s provisional license.   Based on assessments from government agencies – like IBAMA [Brazil’s environmental agency] and the Federal Public Ministry – and those from groups of specialists, the organizations affirm that the construction of Belo Monte will increase illness and poverty, while causing a surge of disorderly migration to the region that will overload health, education, and public safety infrastructure. The petition concludes: "Despite the gravity and irreversibility of the impacts of the project to local communities, there were no appropriate measures taken to ensure the protection of human rights and the environment."   “It worries us how the Brazilian government is ignoring national and international standards to accelerate this project, even at the expense of human rights and the environment,” affirmed Astrid Puentes Riaño, the co-Director of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). “Moving forward without taking precautions required by international norms will only result in human rights violations and the irreversible destruction of a critically important region of the Amazon.”   In addition to calling attention to the illegalities and human rights violations associated with the Belo Monte Dam, the petition cites an important precedent, pointing out that in 2009 the IACHR implemented similar precautionary measures, leading to the suspension of the Chan-75 hydroelectric dam in Panama due to possible violations of indigenous communities’ rights.   ###   For more information on the Belo Monte Dam, visit: http://xingu-vivo.blogspot.com http://www.aida-americas.org http://www.internationalrivers.org http://amazonwatch.org /    

Victory: Constitutional Court Defends Right to Prior Consultation

CEMDA and AIDA Present Report to Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Environmental Advocates Are Key to Protecting Human Rights and Are At-Risk in Mexico

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 15, 2010   CONTACTS: Juan Carlos Arjona Estévez, CEMDA (Mexico) +52-55-5286-332, [email protected], Skype: juancarlosarjonaestevez Jacob Kopas, AIDA, (Bogota) +57-1-338-1277, [email protected], Skype: jacobkopas     Mexico City, Mexico – On September 10, 2010, the Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) and the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) presented information about the important work of environmental advocates in protecting human rights, and about the trend of increasing attacks against such advocates in Mexico. In a "friend of the court" brief submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Cabrera Garcia and Montiel Flores v. Mexico, the two organizations demonstrated how attacks against Teodoro Cabrera and Montiel Flores relating to their work as environmental advocates impedes effective environmental protection.   "In Mexico, it is still very difficult to protect the right to a healthy environment due to the lack of, or in some cases, the ineffectiveness of judicial protections," emphasized Juan Carlos Arjona Estevez, coordinator of CEMDA’s Human Rights and Environment Program. "This makes the pattern of aggressions against environmental advocates even more troubling—it affects the rights of everyone in Mexico."   In 1998, Mr. Cabrera and Mr. Montiel founded the Organization of Peasant Ecologists of the Sierra de Petatlán and Coyuca de Catalán (OCESP), to protect the forests in Guerrero state from uncontrolled and illegal timber extraction. A year later, they were victims of arbitrary detentions and torture due to their work as environmental advocates. Despite being released in 2001, they had to leave their community because of continued threats. Nine years after their release, the Inter-American Court heard Montiel and Cabrera’s claims against Mexican authorities for failing to compensate them for harms or to guarantee their personal safety.   The ineffectiveness of the legal system for protecting the environment in Mexico led Mr. Cabrera and Mr. Montiel to found their organization, OCESP. However, the threats and harassments they suffered, and the lack of response from authorities, created a generalized fear that prevented them and others from defending their community’s right to a healthy environment. Later, this pattern grew to include attacks against environmental advocates throughout Mexico. This situation forced Mr. Cabrera and Mr. Montiel to limit their work as environmental advocates and curtail the work of OCESP.   Jacob Kopas, a lawyer with AIDA considers that "This case is emblematic for the region, and highlights the need for governments to recognize the value and importance of the work done by environmental advocates, and to also guarantee protection for their rights."   "With this report, we are seeking to help strengthen protection of the right to a healthy environment in Mexico and safeguard the people who defend this human right" said Samantha Namnum, director of CEMDA’s Mexico City office. "This is why we asked the Inter-American Court to recognize the important work of environmental defenders and to declare that Mexico, in addition to other human rights, also violated Mr. Cabrera and Mr. Montiel’s right to freedom of association as a result of the arbitrary detentions and tortures they suffered and the impunity surrounding those events."

AIDA Presents Report on Large Dams Before the Inter-American Development Bank (Spanish)

Para Publicación Inmediata: 19 de Marzo de 2010   Contacto: Astrid Puentes Riaño - AIDA, +(52-1-55) 23016639, [email protected]   Informe: Grandes Represas en América ¿Peor el remedio que la enfermedad?   AIDA PRESENTA DOCUMENTO ANTE EL BID El objetivo del documento es el de promover un mejor entendimiento de la situación, evidenciar la vinculación entre los graves impactos ambientales y la violación a los derechos humanos que las grandes represas pueden causar.   Cancún, México – La Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente, AIDA, presentará el informe: “Grandes Represas en América, ¿Peor el remedio que la enfermedad?” ante el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, BID. La presentación se hará en el marco de la Reunión Anual de Gobernadores del BID que se celebra en Cancún, hasta el 23 de marzo. En esta reunión, entre otros, el BID decidirá acerca de la recapitalización del Banco para promover mayores inversiones en el hemisferio.   “Esperamos que las futuras inversiones financiadas por el BID y otras Instituciones Financieras Internacionales tengan en cuenta este informe, así como los estándares internacionales para estos proyectos, incluyendo las recomendaciones de la Comisión Mundial de Represas” declaró Astrid Puentes, co-directora de AIDA. “Esto podría Así podrían evitar graves impactos ambientales y a los derechos humanos, y promover verdaderos proyectos de energía limpia”.   El objetivo del Informe es evidenciar la vinculación entre los graves impactos ambientales y la violación a los derechos humanos que las grandes represas pueden causar y motivar la implementación de proyectos de energía adecuados. Para ello, se analizan cinco estudios de caso de distintas regiones de América Latina: La Parota (México), Chan 75 (Centroamérica), Baba (región Andina), Río Madeira (Brasil) y Yacyretá (Cono Sur).    El informe preparado por AIDA en coordinación con International Rivers y con la cooperación de múltiples organizaciones no gubernamentales y de comunidades afectadas por las grandes represas en el hemisferio, se presentó también en noviembre pasado ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) en Washington. La CIDH celebró esta audiencia dada la importancia del tema para la adecuada protección de los derechos humanos en la región.   Entre los impactos más graves generados por las grandes represas, abordados en el Informe, se incluyen: el empeoramiento de la calidad y salubridad de las aguas tanto río arriba como río abajo por la modificación artificial de las cuencas hidrográficas; la degradación de ecosistemas acuáticos; los impactos a la biodiversidad; los impactos en el cambio climático por el aumento en la emisión de gases efecto invernadero dada la descomposición de materia orgánica inundada; el posible aumento de actividad sísmica; la destrucción de ecosistemas estratégicos; el desplazamiento forzado de comunidades típicamente en situación de vulnerabilidad, como las indígenas, campesinas y afrodescendientes, así como las mujeres y los niños y las niñas; la pérdida de fuentes de alimentación y de sustento; la falta de participación pública y acceso a la información; la falta de consulta y la obtención del consentimiento libre, previo e informado de comunidades afectadas; y criminalización de la protesta social hacia personas o comunidades que defienden sus derechos.   “Buscamos evitar estas consecuencias negativas y promover alternativas efectivas a las necesidades energéticas, para lograr un verdadero desarrollo sostenible”, puntualizó Jacob Kopas, abogado de AIDA y coautor del Informe.   Versión completa del informe y Resumen Ejecutivo   Para mayor información acerca de la situación de las grandes represas en América Latina visite: www.aida-americas.org www.internationalrivers.org www.redlar.org/

Environmental Defense Guide

The purpose of this publication is to promote the use of the Inter-American System of Human Rights for addressing environmental degradation that causes human rights violations. Within this guide we provide the legal strategies and arguments necessary to use the System effectively and properly. Our goal with this publication and our work in general, is to strengthen people’s capacity to defend their individual and collective right to a healthy environment through the proper development, implementation and fulfillment of domestic and international law. With the publication and widespread distribution of the English-language edition of the Guide, we hope to significantly advance this goal. Read and download the guide  

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Examines Impacts of Large Dams in Latin America

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Examines Impacts of Large Dams in Latin America Washington, D.C. - On November 2, 2009 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hold a hearing on the impacts that large dams in Latin America have on human rights and the environment. Dam-affected peoples and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will present information showing that Latin-American governments are building dams at great social, environmental and economic costs, often disregarding national and international laws and violating human rights. “More than a million people have already been affected by large dams in Latin America, many of whom are from indigenous and small farming communities,” said Rafael González, Board Member of the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA). “More than 300 new dams are being planned throughout the region, which could destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people and harm precious ecosystems.” The over 40 national and international NGOs requesting this hearing will present findings from AIDA’s forthcoming publication, Large Dams in the Americas: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?, to the IACHR documenting the poor track record of dam construction in the hemisphere. They will also encourage the Inter-American Commission to make recommendations to member States on how to avoid major environmental damages and human rights violations. “The granting of this hearing by the IACHR is a positive demonstration of their interest in examining the link between large dams and human rights violations,” said Astrid Puentes co-Director of AIDA. “We hope that the IACHR will begin an investigation and recommend that States strictly enforce international standards and human rights law, to avoid major environmental impacts and human rights tragedies.” The human rights impacts of large dams are numerous. Affected communities and stakeholders—mostly indigenous, fishing and farming communities—rarely have the opportunity to participate in decisions on dam developments, and frequently are subjected to intimidation, harassment and even military actions when they oppose projects. Families displaced by large dams often receive inadequate or no compensation. Equally troubling are poorly developed resettlement plans that do not account for lost livelihoods or lack of access to medical attention, fishing areas and farming land, leaving families worse off as a result. Large dams have also had profound environmental impacts. Enormous reservoirs inundate biodiverse wildlife habitats and fertile farmlands. Dams and river diversions also harm fish populations, and are the main cause for the extinction or endangerment of one-third of the world’s freshwater fish species. “We are not against development.” said Father Gabriel Espinoza, spokesperson for communities affected by the El Zapotillo dam in Mexico, and who will speak before the Inter-American Commission. “We understand that a country’s needs for energy and water should be met as a fundamental right of all peoples.” “But governments cannot proceed without consulting and providing information for local communities, according to national and international law. That would violate our fundamental freedoms and disrespect our lives, history, culture and livelihoods.” “There are often better, cheaper, and less-destructive alternatives to building a large dam, whether to meet energy or water needs, or to reduce the impacts from floods,” said Monti Aguirre of International Rivers. “Small-scale, decentralized water supplies and new renewable energy sources, as well as large-scale efficiency and conservation plans are only some of the options available. Unfortunately, governments and corporations frequently ignore these choices or dismiss them out-of-hand when a large dam project is on the table.” The World Commission on Dams, in its ground-breaking report on large dams, Dams and Development, recommends using a comprehensive, participatory process to evaluate needs for water and energy and to assess the full range of available options. The hearing is open to the public and will take place on November 2, 2009, from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m., Room Rubén Darío, 8th Floor of the OAS General Secretariat Building, 1889 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Guidelines for press coverage of public hearings at http://www.cidh.org/Prensa/guidelinespresscoverageENGL.htm. Opportunities for interviews with presenters after the hearing. For more information on large dams in the Americas: International Rivers, Redlar

Large dams in the Americas: Is the cure worse than the disease?

Large dams consistently cause severe, and often irreversible, environmental and social damage. Their construction is also often associated with violations of international human rights and environmental laws. AIDA’s report Large Dams in the Americas: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? explores these grave impacts and explains the existing international standards that should be applied to protect the environment and human rights. The report also exposes the dangers of using large hydroelectric dams to meet increasing energy demands in Latin America. To promote greater protection of human rights, AIDA gave testimony based on this dams report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at a general hearing on November 2, 2009. AIDA has also shared the report’s findings with international experts, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, affected local communities, and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.   Furthermore, AIDA staff presented legal strategy workshops at "Rivers for Life 3", an international meeting of dam-affected communities in Temacapulín, Mexico, October 1-7, 2010. The previous month, AIDA staff represented Latin America on a panel of water experts at World Water Week in Stockholm. In Large Dams in the Americas, AIDA examines five large hydroelectric dams in violation of a range of environmental and human rights laws: Yacyretá in Argentina and Paraguay, Río Madeira in Bolivia and Brazil, Baba in Ecuador, Chan-75 in Panama, and La Parota in Mexico. Through these case studies, AIDA illustrates how governments generally disregard important international obligations and standards, such as the need to conduct proper environmental and social impact assessments.  In the report, we also explain the significant social and environmental impacts caused by large dams. We discuss how families suffer when they are displaced or forcefully evicted by dams and lose valuable farmland, water sources, or traditional fishing areas. We document how the people most harmed by large dams are those from vulnerable populations, including indigenous, afro-descendent and poor farming communities. We also describe how large dams typically harm the environment by flooding valuable ecosystems, dramatically altering natural flows of water, disrupting wildlife habitat, and obstructing the migratory paths of perse species, among other impacts.  In addition, Large Dams in the Americas dispels the myth that dams are a source of "green energy". Even though dams do not rely on fossil fuels to generate electricity, they still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Hydroelectric dams create enormous reservoirs of river water that submerge valleys and lead to the decomposition of vast amounts of organic matter. As the trees and other biomasses break down, they release carbon dioxide and methane, the same greenhouse gases that are created by "dirty" technologies like coal-fired electricity plants. Turbines also liberate methane trapped in deep water and emit carbon dioxide as they release pressure from the reservoir.  In tropical regions, dams can emit as much as eleven times the amount of greenhouse gases that a conventional power plant of equivalent size would emit. Given the negative impacts of large dams, AIDA's report recommends that policymakers seriously consider alternatives that protect human rights and our natural ecosystems, save energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Suggested alternatives include: improving energy efficiency, reducing demand, making better use of sustainable energy sources, investing in energy-efficient technologies and infrastructure, and removing barriers that hinder technology exchange between nations. AIDA wrote this report in collaboration with our participating organizations, CEMDA, CEDHA, ECOLEX and Earthjustice, as well as International Rivers, Sobrevivencia, and the Association for Conservation and Development (ACD). By educating governments, policymakers, communities, and other key players about large dams, we seek to encourage authorities to investigate the matter and apply our recommendations on how to implement dam projects in compliance with international laws.   Spanish-Language Report Available Here