Project
Mitchell Gilbert for AIDA.
Protecting the health of La Oroya's residents from toxic pollution
For more than 20 years, residents of La Oroya have been seeking justice and reparations after a metallurgical complex caused heavy metal pollution in their community—in violation of their fundamental rights—and the government failed to take adequate measures to protect them.
On March 22, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in the case. It found Peru responsible and ordered it to adopt comprehensive reparation measures. This decision is a historic opportunity to restore the rights of the victims, as well as an important precedent for the protection of the right to a healthy environment in Latin America and for adequate state oversight of corporate activities.
Two years after the Court issued its ruling, its implementation remains in the early stages, with minimal progress, due primarily to the Peruvian government’s lack of political will and its constant shifting of arguments to delay the process.
Background
La Oroya is a small city in Peru’s central mountain range, in the department of Junín, about 176 km from Lima. It has a population of around 30,000 inhabitants.
There, in 1922, the U.S. company Cerro de Pasco Cooper Corporation installed the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex to process ore concentrates with high levels of lead, copper, zinc, silver and gold, as well as other contaminants such as sulfur, cadmium and arsenic.
The complex was nationalized in 1974 and operated by the State until 1997, when it was acquired by the US Doe Run Company through its subsidiary Doe Run Peru. In 2009, due to the company's financial crisis, the complex's operations were suspended.
Decades of damage to public health
The Peruvian State - due to the lack of adequate control systems, constant supervision, imposition of sanctions and adoption of immediate actions - has allowed the metallurgical complex to generate very high levels of contamination for decades that have seriously affected the health of residents of La Oroya for generations.
Those living in La Oroya have a higher risk or propensity to develop cancer due to historical exposure to heavy metals. While the health effects of toxic contamination are not immediately noticeable, they may be irreversible or become evident over the long term, affecting the population at various levels. Moreover, the impacts have been differentiated —and even more severe— among children, women and the elderly.
Most of the affected people presented lead levels higher than those recommended by the World Health Organization and, in some cases, higher levels of arsenic and cadmium; in addition to stress, anxiety, skin disorders, gastric problems, chronic headaches and respiratory or cardiac problems, among others.
Photo: Mitchell Gilbert for AIDA.
The search for justice
Over time, several actions were brought at the national and international levels to obtain oversight of the metallurgical complex and its impacts, as well as to obtain redress for the violation of the rights of affected people.
AIDA became involved with La Oroya in 1997 and, since then, we’ve employed various strategies to protect public health, the environment and the rights of its inhabitants.
In 2002, our publication La Oroya Cannot Wait helped to make La Oroya's situation visible internationally and demand remedial measures.
That same year, a group of residents of La Oroya filed an enforcement action against the Ministry of Health and the General Directorate of Environmental Health to protect their rights and those of the rest of the population.
In 2006, they obtained a partially favorable decision from the Constitutional Court that ordered protective measures. However, after more than 14 years, no measures were taken to implement the ruling and the highest court did not take action to enforce it.
Given the lack of effective responses at the national level, AIDA —together with an international coalition of organizations— took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and in November 2005 requested measures to protect the right to life, personal integrity and health of the people affected. In 2006, we filed a complaint with the IACHR against the Peruvian State for the violation of the human rights of La Oroya residents.
In 2007, in response to the petition, the IACHR granted protection measures to 65 people from La Oroya and in 2016 extended them to another 15.
Current Situation
To date, the protection measures granted by the IACHR are still in effect. Although the State has issued some decisions to somewhat control the company and the levels of contamination in the area, these have not been effective in protecting the rights of the population or in urgently implementing the necessary actions in La Oroya.
Although the levels of lead and other heavy metals in the blood have decreased since the suspension of operations at the complex, this does not imply that the effects of the contamination have disappeared because the metals remain in other parts of the body and their impacts can appear over the years. The State has not carried out a comprehensive diagnosis and follow-up of the people who were highly exposed to heavy metals at La Oroya. There is also a lack of an epidemiological and blood study on children to show the current state of contamination of the population and its comparison with the studies carried out between 1999 and 2005.
In March 2024, the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex resumed operations and is currently once again causing pollution levels in the city that exceed those recommended by the World Health Organization.
Photo: Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The case before the Inter-American Court
As for the international complaint, in October 2021 —15 years after the process began— the IACHR adopted a decision on the merits of the case and submitted it to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, after establishing the international responsibility of the Peruvian State in the violation of human rights of residents of La Oroya.
The Court heard the case at a public hearing in October 2022. More than a year later, on March 22, 2024, the international court issued its judgment. In its ruling, the first of its kind, it held Peru responsible for violating the rights of the residents of La Oroya and ordered the government to adopt comprehensive reparation measures, including environmental remediation, reduction and mitigation of polluting emissions, air quality monitoring, free and specialized medical care, compensation, and a resettlement plan for the affected people.
Two years after the ruling was issued, there has been no significant progress in its implementation by the Peruvian State. The victims in this case are still awaiting the implementation of the reparations ordered by the Court, including comprehensive and specialized health care, measures to mitigate pollution from the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex, and the payment of compensation.
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The ABCs of "critical" or transition minerals and their role in energy production
By Mayela Sánchez, David Cañas and Javier Oviedo* There is no doubt that we need to move away from fossil fuels to address the climate crisis. But what does it mean to switch to other energy sources?To make a battery or a solar panel, raw materials from nature are also used.Some of these raw materials are minerals which, due to their characteristics and in the context of the energy transition, have been descriptively named "critical" minerals or transition minerals.What are these minerals, where are they found, and how are they used?Below we answer the most important questions about these mineral resources, because it is crucial to know which natural resources will supply the new energy sources, and to ensure that their extraction respects human rights and planetary limits, so that the energy transition is just. What are "critical" or transition minerals and why are they called that?They are a group of minerals with a high capacity to store and conduct energy. Because of these properties, they are used in the development of renewable energy technologies, such as solar panels, batteries for electric mobility, or wind turbines.They are so called because they are considered strategic to the energy transition. The term "critical" refers to elements that are vital to the economy and national security, but whose supply chain is vulnerable to disruption. This means that transition minerals may be strategic minerals, but not critical in terms of security and the economy.However, given the urgency of climate action, some states and international organizations have classified transition minerals as "critical" minerals in order to promote and facilitate access to these raw materials.They are also often referred to as transition minerals because they are considered essential for the technological development of renewable energy sources, such as those mentioned above. And in the context of the energy transition, energy sources that use these minerals are the most sought-after to replace fossil energy sources. What are the most important "critical" or transition minerals?The most important transition minerals are cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel and rare earth.But there are at least 19 minerals used in various renewable energy technologies: bauxite, cadmium, cobalt, copper, chromium, tin, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silicon, tellurium, titanium, zinc, and the "rare" earth. What are "rare" earth elements and why are they so called?The "rare" earth elements are the 16 chemical elements of the lanthanoid or lanthanide group, plus Ithrium (Y), whose chemical behavior is virtually the same as that of the lanthanoids.They are Scandium, Ithrium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Tullium, Iterbium and Lutetium.They are so called because when they were discovered in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were less well known than other elements considered similar, such as calcium. But the name is now outdated.Nor does the term "rare" refer to their abundance, because although they are not usually concentrated in deposits that can be exploited (so their mines are few), even the less abundant elements in this group are much more common than gold. What are "critical" or transition minerals used for? What technologies are based on them?The uses of transition minerals in the technological development of renewable energy sources are diverse:Solar technologies: bauxite, cadmium, tin, germanium, gallium, indium, selenium, silicon, tellurium, zinc.Electrical installations: copper.Wind energy: bauxite, copper, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, rare earths, zinc.Energy storage: bauxite, cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, rare earths, titanium.Batteries: cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, rare earths. In addition, they are used in a variety of modern technologies, for example in the manufacture of displays, cell phones, computer hard drives and LED lights, among others. Where are "critical" or transition minerals found?The geography of transition minerals is broad, ranging from China to Canada, from the United States to Australia. But their extraction has been concentrated in countries of the global south.Several Latin American countries are among the top producers of various transition minerals. These materials are found in complex areas rich in biological and cultural diversity, such as the Amazon and the Andean wetlands.Argentina: lithiumBrazil: aluminum, bauxite, lithium, manganese, rare earths, titaniumBolivia: lithiumChile: copper, lithium, molybdenumColombia: nickelMexico: copper, tin, molybdenum, zincPeru: tin, molybdenum, zinc How do "critical" or transition minerals support the energy transition and decarbonization?Transition minerals are seen as indispensable links in the energy transition to decarbonization, i.e. the shift away from fossil energy sources.But the global interest in these materials also raises questions about the benefits and challenges of mining transition minerals.The issue has become so relevant that last September, the United Nations Panel on Critical Minerals for Energy Transition issued a set of recommendations and principles to ensure equitable, fair and sustainable management of these minerals.In addition, as a result of the intensification and expansion of their extraction in countries of the region, the issue was brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the first time on November 15.In a public hearing, representatives of communities and organizations from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, as well as regional organizations, presented information and testimonies on the environmental and social impacts of transition mineral mining.Given the current energy transition process, it is necessary to know where the resources that will enable the technologies to achieve this transition will come from.The extraction and use of transition minerals must avoid imposing disproportionate environmental and social costs on local communities and ecosystems. *Mayela Sánchez is a digital community specialist at AIDA; David Cañas and Javier Oviedo are scientific advisors.Sources consulted:-Olivera, B., Tornel, C., Azamar, A., Minerales críticos para la transición energética. Conflictos y alternativas hacia una transformación socioecológica, Heinrich Böll Foundation Mexico City/Engenera/UAM-Unidad Xochimilco.-Science History Institute Museum & Library, “History and Future of Rare Earth Elements”.-FIMA NGO, Narratives on the extraction of critical minerals for the energy transition: Critiques from environmental and territorial justice.-Haxel, Hedrick & Orris, “Rare Earth-Elements. Critical Resources for High Technology,” 2005.-USGS 2014, “The Rare-Earth elements. Vital to modern technology and lifestyle”, 2014.-Final Report for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Thematic Hearing: Minerals for Energy Transition and its Impact on Human Rights in the Americas, 2024.
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Whales and salmon farming: how does the industry impact our gentle marine giants?
Chile is by nature a country of marine mammals. Of the 94 species of cetaceans existing in the world, 43 have their habitat in the country's waters. And just over a quarter of them are found in Patagonia. But Chile is also a country of salmon, occupying the second place in the world production, surpassed only by Norway. The overlap of the salmon industry with the habitat of these emblematic marine mammals represents a significant threat to cetaceans in Chile about which not enough is known.The recent deaths of three whales in protected areas of Chile's southern seas force us to ask ourselves why they are dying and how they are affected by the growing industry with which they share their habitat.Civil society is responding. In early November 2024, Greenpeace - together with the Kawésqar community Grupos Familiares Nómadas del Mar and with the support of AIDA - filed two criminal complaints against those responsible for the deaths of humpback whales in protected areas.These lawsuits, which have already been declared admissible, represent an unprecedented milestone in the country's criminal history, as they are the first take advantage of the amendaments made to the Penal Code by Law 21,595 on Economic and Environmental Crimes to the Penal Code to file a lawsuit for possible violations committed inside protected areas.In this context, AIDA, together with Greenpeace and the NGO FIMA - historical allies in the resistance to the expansion of salmon farming in the waters of Chilean Patagonia - commissioned a scientific report entitle “Cetaceans and Salmon Farming: Challenges for the Protection of Marine Biodiversity in Chilean Patagonia.”The report is currently available in Spanish, which lays out the available information on the impacts of salmon farming on the whales and dolphins of Chilean Patagonia. The results are alarming: serious risks have been identified, in addition to a lack of data that makes it difficult to understand the magnitude and consequences of the threats.One of the most evident impacts is the incidental capture of small and large cetaceans in farming centers. There are documented cases of entanglement and deaths, although the lack of official records makes it difficult to measure the severity of the problem.Another significant threat is the Intense maritime traffic in Patagonia, largely related to the salmon industry. Although there is no official data in Chile, there is evidence of deaths and serious injuries due to collisions between boats and whales. In addition, underwater noise from boat engines affects the health and well-being of the whales and dolphins, which depend on sound for communication and orientation.In addition to these, there are other problems of the industry, whose effects on whales and dolphins have not been adequately studied, but which we should consider while the studies are being conducted. One of these is the escape of salmonids, which compete with native species for food resources and may carry diseases that could affect smaller cetaceans in particular by reducing the availability of prey that serve as food.Microplastic pollution, 40 percent of which comes from salmon farming centers, is another under-researched environmental concern in terms of its impact on cetaceans. And the excessive use of antibiotics in Chilean salmon farming, one of the highest rates in the world, could be having negative indirect effects on the ecosystems that support these marine mammals.Finally, one of the most significant environmental impacts of the salmon farming in Chilean Patagonia is the generation of hypoxia and anoxia due to the excess of organic matter in the farming centers, coming from salmon feces and uneaten food that falls to the seabed. The decomposition of this matter consumes the oxygen in the water, creating zones in the sea where life becomes difficult or impossible.We hope that this report will fill the information gap that has become uncomfortable and even untenable in light of recent whale deaths.With this evidence, even in a scenario of limited knowledge, we will be able to encourage a governmental response towards the rapid implementation of effective protection measures for whales and dolphins in Chilean waters.Chile is a country of cetaceans, and as their guardians, we must ensure that our waters are a safe space for their development and well-being. Read and download the report (in Spanish)
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Organizations and communities call for intervention by the IACHR in response to the human rights impacts of mining for the energy transition
On Friday, November 15, representatives of national and regional organizations from Latin America, together with members of indigenous communities and peoples, participated in a regional public hearing before Commissioners and the Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (REDESCA) of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to discuss the Human Rights violations that mineral extraction for the energy transition is causing on the continent.Specifically, they asked the IACHR to urge States to:Create or strengthen intangible mining-free zones in consideration of their cultural, climate, or ecosystem values.Refrain from modifying regulatory frameworks that protect the environment and indigenous peoples to facilitate investment in mining projects for the energy transition, without considering the protection of human rights.Respect and ensure the framework for protecting the right to a healthy environment, considering synergistic, cumulative, and perpetual impacts, as well as climate impacts; and implement effective mechanisms to supervise and monitor public and private actors involved in the extraction of these minerals.Strengthen their justice systems, taking into account the principles of prevention and precaution against irreparable damage to ecosystems, people, and communities. They also requested that the IACHR prepare a report examining the measures that should be adopted by the States of the region to ensure that the promotion of minerals for the transition does not lead to human rights violations, especially in communities living in areas that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of mining activities.The hearing highlighted, based on specific cases, the serious human rights issues associated with the mining of lithium, cadmium, copper, cobalt, and other minerals used in the development of renewable energy technologies.At the outset, Felipe Pino, Project Coordinator at ONG FIMA, Chile, emphasized that as the rollout of energy transition projects accelerates, there are growing calls for a just transition, which should be interpreted as a wake-up call about the lack of coherence between transition strategies and the basis for climate action: protecting people and ecosystems on the planet. “The communities most affected by the climate crisis are now threatened by strategies to combat climate change. The success of our efforts will depend on whether we are able to resolve this supposed paradox of acceleration versus justice, which is particularly evident in our region,” he said.Pia Marchegiani, Deputy Executive Director of Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), Argentina, said: “The great interest surrounding these minerals is also reflected in the enormous geopolitical dispute to gain control over them. Countries in North America, Europe, and Asia have enacted regulations to exploit these minerals and ensure their supply. International organizations such as the World Bank Group and the G20 have developed policies to ensure financing with certain safeguards in place for their use.”Marchegiani also noted that this issue has become so significant that the United Nations Secretary-General himself established a set of guiding principles to ensure justice, equity, and sustainability in the global energy transition. The first of these principles emphasizes the importance of placing human rights at the center of mineral value chains. The second highlights the need to address the transition comprehensively, with a focus on protecting the planet, biodiversity, and the environment.“It is estimated that demand for these minerals will grow exponentially in the coming years. Some forecasts suggest that global demand could quadruple by 2040 if climate agreements are fulfilled. Electric vehicles and batteries account for approximately half of the growth in this demand over the next two decades. This increase in demand translates into enormous pressure for Latin America, which already supplies 40% of the world’s copper production and 35% of lithium,” added Marchegiani.To explain the link between lithium extraction and human rights violations, Óscar Campanini, Executive Director of the Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB), pointed out: “Lithium is extracted from the salt water beneath the salt flats, which requires the removal of tens of millions of cubic meters of salt water and fresh water. The salt flats in the so-called lithium triangle are located in desert areas where life is only possible thanks to fossil groundwater.”Verónica Gostissa, lawyer and activist at the Asamblea PUCARÁ in Catamarca, Argentina, said: “Since 1997, transnational companies have been extracting lithium from the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a sensitive high-altitude wetland. Due to the use of millions of liters of fresh and salt water, the companies—with the endorsement of the state—have already caused irreversible environmental damage: they have dried up the Trapiche River vega—that is, more than 5 km of river—which has died.”For her part, Lady Sandón, representative of the Environment Unit of the Consejo de Pueblos Atacameños, Chile, stated: “They are trying to secure production for 30 years to exploit lithium in fragile ecosystems such as salt flats, without having carried out consultation processes with indigenous communities, without adequate transparency, without considering those of us who live in the salt flats, arbitrarily choosing which salt flats to protect, without understanding that there is an interconnection of water.”Verónica Chávez, a member of the Comunidad de Santuario de Tres Pozos, one of more than 38 indigenous communities living in the Salinas Grandes Basin and Guayatayoc Lagoon, in the provinces of Salta and Jujuy in Argentina, said: “What we are defending is our life, that of plants, domestic and wild animals, vicuñas, llamas, etc. The lives of our ancestors, lagoons, and salt flats, which are part of our families. We all need water to live; clean water and a healthy territory. We are aware that this is not a task for the future. It is bread for today, hunger for tomorrow, and we will be sacrificed in order to extract this mineral.”Juan Sebastian Anaya, advocacy advisor at the Gaia Amazonas Foundation in Colombia, indicated that the human rights of indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and peasants in the Amazon are being affected by the legal and illegal extraction of minerals for the transition. “Today, there are extraction sites for rare earth elements, coltan, copper, and other strategic minerals, most of which operate without any state control… Mining activity is alien to the knowledge systems and legal order of the vast majority of Amazonian indigenous peoples,” he emphasized.Finally, Liliana Ávila, director of the Human Rights and Environment Program at the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), highlighted that the testimonies reveal at least three cross-cutting elements: violations of the right to water, violations of the right to a healthy environment, and aggravated impacts on indigenous peoples and local communities. “The region has experienced decades of human rights impacts resulting from fossil fuel extraction. It is essential that new forms of energy production overcome this legacy of abuse,” she said.The hearing was requested during the 191st session of the IACHR by the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF), the Gaia Amazonas Foundation, and the organizations that make up the Alliance for Andean Wetlands: the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), a regional organization; the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) and Asamblea PUCARÁ of Argentina; the Centro de Documentación e Información Bolivia (CEDIB) and the Human Rights Collective Empodérate of Bolivia; ONG FIMA, Defensa Ambiental, and Fundación Tantí of Chile. Press contactVíctor Quintanilla (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +52 5570522107
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