Project
Maíra Irigaray / Amazon WatchFazendo com que o Brasil se responsabilize pelos danos da represa Belo Monte
Quando em pleno funcionamento, Belo Monte será a terceira maior usina hidrelétrica do mundo, construída em um dos ecossistemas mais importantes do planeta: a floresta Amazônica. Localizada no rio Xingu, no Pará, um estado do norte do Brasil, o reservatório cobrirá mais de 500 quilômetros quadrados de florestas e terras agrícolas, uma área do tamanho da cidade de Chicago.
Para a população da Bacia do Xingu, a construção de Belo Monte tem significado a perda do acesso à água, à alimentação, à moradia, ao trabalho e ao transporte. Ao menos 20 mil pessoas serão deslocadas.
O governo e o consórcio encarregado do projeto começaram a construir a usina sem antes consultar primeiro as pessoas da região, muitas das quais são indígenas. Negligenciaram a normativa internacional de direitos humanos, a qual requer o consentimento prévio, livre e informado das comunidade indígenas afetadas. O Brasil também descumpriu as medidas cautelares outorgadas pela Comissão Interamericana de Direitos Humanos, as quais destinavam-se a proteger a vida, saúde e integridade das comunidades.
A represa começou a operar, ainda que não em plena capacidade. Recentemente um tribunal federal suspendeu a Licença de Operação do empreendimento devido à falta de cumprimento, por parte do consórcio, com as obras de saneamento básico em Altamira, cidade diretamente afetada pela hidroelétrica.
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When environmental defenders in Latin America take the stage at key international forums
By Víctor Quintanilla and Mayela Sánchez García* The voices of communities across Latin America and the Caribbean are powerful, especially when they call for environmental protection amid multiple, growing threats.Often, this demand falls on deaf ears among those who deliver justice at the national or local level.This trend makes it necessary to turn to complementary avenues of international justice.One such platform is provided by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an international body with a critical mandate: the promotion and protection of human rights on the continent.As an organization driven by the mission of guaranteeing the right to a healthy environment in Latin America and the Caribbean, the IACHR serves as a key forum for highlighting environmental issues that affect human rights in the region. We do this in alliance with communities and partner organizations. This allows the voices of local communities to be heard by an international body capable of urging the continent’s governments to change their practices and strengthen their standards for protecting populations affected by environmental degradation. Testimonies calling for a responsible phase-out of fossil fuelsBringing the voices of communities before the IACHR is also an opportunity to highlight regional patterns of risk and human rights violations.So it was on March 10, when representatives from communities in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic testified before the Commission about how decades of fossil fuel extraction and use have seriously violated human rights such as the right to a healthy environment, the right to health, and the right to access information and participate in environmental matters."Our region doesn’t just need to decarbonize its energy system; it also needs to address the historical injustice that our communities have endured," said Yaneth Ortiz, a representative of the Wayuu indigenous people of La Guajira, a region in northern Colombia that has been severely impacted by the operations of the Carbones del Cerrejón mining project.Their messages were heard by the IACHR during a public hearing titled "Human rights situation related to fossil fuel extraction," held as part of its 195th Period of Sessions.Community representatives also noted that, in the current context of the energy transition, these violations and risks have become more severe."Our children are getting sick in their own schools. Despite all this, there are no clear parties to blame and no structural solutions… For us, this decarbonization process [in Chile] has been insufficient and lacking in transparency," said Katta Alonso, speaking on behalf of the Chilean organization Mujeres en Zonas de Sacrificio en Resistencia. The local experiences shared highlighted the urgency of implementing just transitions, which entail the responsible phase-out of fossil fuel projects throughout the region.Meanwhile, Juan Bay, president of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador (NAWE), stated: "We have not been consulted in a prior, free, and informed manner regarding oil exploration on our territory, nor regarding the establishment of the protected area. We now demand that our rights be respected in the process of closing down oil operations and in the environmental and social remediation."AIDA requested the hearing in collaboration with the communities and partner organizations. "We explained the risks and human rights violations faced by various communities in the context of the closure and irresponsible exit of coal, gas, and oil extraction and combustion projects," explains Rosa Peña, AIDA’s attorney.The Commission views the purpose of these hearings as gathering information on human rights issues in specific countries or regionally, in order to issue recommendations to governments aimed at ensuring respect for and the enjoyment of human rights.Before each session, it receives a huge number of requests to address various human rights issues across the continent during the hearings—issues that go beyond just the environment or climate."This is how we got here, after convincing the Commission of the importance of approaching this issue from a human rights perspective and of listening to the communities," says Liliana Ávila, director of AIDA’s Human Rights and Environment Program.Over the years, AIDA has developed significant expertise and leadership in successfully bringing cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights—the two pillars of the Inter-American Human Rights System, a mechanism of the Organization of American States—to achieve regional impact in the protection of a healthy environment, in partnership with local communities. Voices against the damage caused by illegal miningAlso, during the 195th Period of Sessions of the IACHR, we participated in the ex officio hearing titled "Impacts of illegal mining on economic, social, cultural and environmental rights," convened by the Commission itself.Our contribution joined other voices in highlighting why this activity is now one of the most alarming phenomena on the continent, given its severe impact on ecosystems and human rights. In Latin America, gold mining fuels illegal extraction that violates numerous rights, primarily those of indigenous peoples and traditional communities. At the hearing, we proposed relevant measures to the Commission to address the issue from a regional perspective.At AIDA, we seek to amplify the strength of local communities and their people, bringing their wisdom to decision-making forums with the potential to transform realities and build a better future for the continent. *Víctor Quintanilla-Sangüeza is AIDA’s Content Coordinator, and Mayela Sánchez García is the organization’s digital community specialist.
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International Principles for Responsible Divestment from Fossil Fuels
Against the backdrop of an ever-worsening climate emergency, companies must rapidly withdraw from the extraction of coal, oil, and gas as well as associated fossil energy industries and ancillary facilities for transport, storage, refining, and processing. The urgent need to quit fossil fuels, however, does not justify irresponsible divestment by fossil energy companies. Rapid closure and responsible closure of the fossil fuel industry are not mutually incompatible agendas. Both are vital to achieve climate and environmental justice and a just energy transition.In the absence of responsible divestment policies and practices, communities are left facing legacy pollution, as well as the long-term health risks that come from abandoned infrastructure that is not properly decommissioned and a lack of proper ecosystem restoration. Many communities also confront significant loss of livelihoods and financial hardship as the fossil fuel industry divests with no regard for the local economic consequences, particularly where economic dependencies have been built up over time.Rooted in the lived experiences and demands of communities and workers affected by fossil fuel activities around the world, and in line with existing international obligations of states and international frameworks for corporate accountability, including the responsibility to respect human rights, these International Principles for Responsible Divestment from Fossil Fuels set out a positive agenda that all companies and states must follow to advance a just transition. They are designed to shift the power imbalance currently favouring powerful companies and states in order to ensure that affected communities and workers have agency and control over how fossil fuel divestment occurs. They are intended to be followed by companies and made obligatory by the states. Read and download the document
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Families in La Oroya are calling on the Peruvian government to take four urgent actions to ensure effective compliance with the Inter-American Court’s ruling
In the absence of significant progress, they are calling on the government to identify the entities responsible for implementing each measure ordered by the Court, to provide comprehensive and specialized health care, to ensure the mitigation of pollution from the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex, and to immediately pay compensation to the victims of the case. La Oroya, Peru. Given the minimal progress made in complying with the ruling issued two years ago by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, families affected by decades of pollution in La Oroya are demanding that the government urgently take four necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation of the ruling in the short term.On March 22, 2024, the international court issued a ruling holding the Peruvian government responsible for human rights violations against a group of 80 residents of La Oroya and ordering it to take comprehensive remediation measures. However, implementation of the ruling remains in its early stages, primarily due to the government’s lack of political will and its constant shifting of arguments to delay the process. Progress to date has been limited to publicizing the ruling, making payments to the Victims’ Fund established by the Court, and launching criminal investigations into the stigmatization and persecution of victims for their environmental defense work.Furthermore, in the two years since the ruling was issued, the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex, having resumed operations, has once again caused pollution levels in the city to exceed those recommended by the World Health Organization. "The reactivation of the Metallurgical Complex in March 2024, without complying with current environmental standards, once again puts the health of the entire population of La Oroya at risk. Today, neither the victims in this case nor the rest of the city’s residents are guaranteed access to healthcare in the face of pollution. Furthermore, there is no clarity on when this situation will end, which creates significant uncertainty due to the government’s failure to act," stated Rosa Peña, senior attorney at the Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), the organization bringing the case before the Court alongside the Pro Human Rights Association (APRODEH) of Peru. In light of this situation, the group of victims in the case is calling on the Peruvian government to move forward with implementing the ruling through four urgent actions:Issue a resolution determining jurisdiction that clearly defines which entity is responsible for each court order, and establishes a budget and specific implementation deadlines.Adopt and implement a specialized protocol for comprehensive health care, developed with the active participation of victims and with sufficient funding.Suspend operations at the Metallurgical Complex until an environmental management plan is in place that complies with the standards established by the Court; and evaluate transitional measures for property owners and workers to prevent further social impacts.Pay compensation to the victims as ordered by the Court. After more than 20 years of struggle, the landmark ruling in the case has yet to translate into better living conditions for the victims or into reparations for the harm they suffered. "It is deeply concerning that, two years after the ruling was issued, the government has not yet determined which agencies will be responsible for enforcing each of its provisions. This situation makes it impossible to even establish a forum for direct coordination on behalf of the victims and the general population of La Oroya and the country regarding mining and metallurgical activities. Let us not forget that the Court also ordered public policies at the national level to protect the environment and health in Peru," said Christian Huaylinos of APRODEH’s legal department.Although Peru’s political instability has played a role, the main obstacle to steady progress in implementing the binding international ruling has been the government’s lack of determination. Press contactLorena Zárate | AIDA | [email protected] | +52 553902 7481
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