“Choose Europe”: Prioritizing minerals, not rights
The Raw Materials Week in Brussels, Belgium, has come to an end. This annual event, organized by the European Commission, aims to discuss how to ensure “sustainable and secure” access to raw materials in and for Europe, with the goal of strengthening international alliances to meet its defense, digitalization, and security goals. The European Commission […]
Key points of the Advisory Opinion on minerals and rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights outlined in its Advisory Opinion No. 32 (OC-32), released on July 3, 2025, how human rights must be ensured in the face of the climate emergency. This landmark opinion sets the course for the protection of both valuable ecosystems and the rights of people in Latin America -a region […]
Urgent international alert on the impact of lithium mining on Andean wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile
The organizations that make up the Alliance for Andean Wetlands alert the Ramsar Convention Secretariat about the changes in the ecological conditions of the Andean wetlands and the non-compliance of the countries with their international obligations. The Alliance for Andean Wetlands sent an urgent alert to the General Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention, an international […]
Life in Andean wetlands at risk from extractivism
The expansion of industrial extraction of lithium and other minerals for the energy transition of the global north threatens wetlands in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. These delicate ecosystems are an abundant source of life and fundamental for human subsistence, environmental balance and for mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis. The Andean wetlands – including salt flats, […]
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 […]
Organizations and communities alert to human rights impacts of mineral extraction for the energy transition
A public hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will focus on the impact of the expansion and intensification of extractive operations for transition minerals like lithium and copper on communities in Latin America. Washington DC. On November 15, at a public hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, representatives of national and […]
COP16: To conserve biodiversity, governments must respect indigenous and local knowledge
At the UN Conference on Biodiversity, countries must also make progress in ensuring the participation of indigenous and local communities in decision-making on biodiversity. The energy transition model of the global north implies irreversible impacts for the Andean wetlands and the communities that inhabit them, whose territories overlap with lithium reserves. Ahead of the 16th meeting […]
COP3 in Escazú must advance the protection of environmental defenders
In 2022, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 88% of murders of environmental defenders worldwide. At COP3 in Escazú, to be held from April 22 to 24 in Chile, member countries must make progress in protecting their lives and work, as well as in ensuring the effective participation of local communities and their access […]
The Alliance for Andean Wetlands calls for the protection of these ecosystems and the life they sustain
All aspects of human well-being are linked to the health of the world’s wetlands. Despite this, the global extent of wetlands has declined by between 64 and 71%. Andean wetlands—including salt flats, lakes, and lagoons—are ecosystems of high environmental and social importance. They are at serious risk from the climate crisis, land use changes, and […]
The Alliance for the Andean Wetlands brings together organizations for the protection and conservation of wetlands
The alliance seeks to protect the water, biodiversity, territories and ways of life that depend on these ecosystems in Latin America, especially in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. With the aim to promote the protection and conservation of wetlands -as well as the water, biodiversity, territories and livelihoods of indigenous and peasant communities that depend on […]