{"id":1397,"date":"2024-11-25T07:50:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T10:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/organizations-and-communities-call-for-intervention-by-the-iachr-in-response-to-the-human-rights-impacts-of-mining-for-the-energy-transition\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T13:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:19:21","slug":"organizations-and-communities-call-for-intervention-by-the-iachr-in-response-to-the-human-rights-impacts-of-mining-for-the-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/organizations-and-communities-call-for-intervention-by-the-iachr-in-response-to-the-human-rights-impacts-of-mining-for-the-energy-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizations and communities call for intervention by the IACHR in response to the human rights impacts of mining for the energy transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Specifically, <\/span>they asked the IACHR to urge States to<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create or strengthen intangible mining-free zones in consideration of their cultural, climate, or ecosystem values.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Refrain from modifying regulatory frameworks for the protection of the environment and indigenous peoples in order to facilitate investment in mining projects for the energy transition without considering the protection of Human Rights.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Respect and guarantee the framework for protecting the right to a healthy environment, considering synergistic, cumulative, perpetual, and climate impacts; and implement effective mechanisms for supervising and monitoring public and private actors involved in the extraction of these minerals.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Strengthen their justice systems, taking into account the principles of prevention and precaution against irreparable damage to ecosystems, people, and communities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    They also requested that <\/span>the IACHR prepare a report examining the measures that should be adopted by the States<\/b> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The hearing highlighted\u2014based on specific cases\u2014the <\/span>serious Human Rights issues associated with the mining of lithium, cadmium, copper, cobalt, and other minerals used in the development of renewable energy technologies<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

    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. <\/span>\u201cThe 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,\u201d<\/b> he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Pia Marchegiani, Deputy Executive Director of Fundaci\u00f3n Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), Argentina, said: \u201c<\/span>The great interest surrounding these minerals is also reflected in the enormous geopolitical dispute to gain control over them<\/b>. 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Marchegiani also mentioned that this issue has become so important that the United Nations Secretary-General himself established a series of guiding principles aimed at ensuring 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 in a comprehensive manner, taking into account the protection of the planet, biodiversity, and the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cIt 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 <\/span>enormous pressure for Latin America, which already supplies 40% of the world’s copper production and 35% of lithium<\/b>,\u201d added Marchegiani.<\/span><\/p>\n

    To explain the link between lithium extraction and human rights violations, \u00d3scar Campanini, Executive Director of the Centro de Documentaci\u00f3n e Informaci\u00f3n Bolivia (CEDIB), pointed out: \u201cLithium 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. <\/span>The salt flats in the so-called lithium triangle are located in desert areas where life is only possible thanks to fossil groundwater.<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ver\u00f3nica Gostissa, lawyer and activist at the Asamble PUCAR\u00c1 in Catamarca, Argentina, said: \u201cSince 1997, transnational companies have been extracting lithium from the Salar del Hombre Muerto, a sensitive high-altitude wetland. <\/span>Due to the use of millions of liters of fresh and salt water, the companies\u2014with the endorsement of the state\u2014have already caused irreversible environmental damage: they have dried up the Trapiche River vega\u2014that is, more than 5 km of river\u2014which has died<\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    For her part, Lady Sand\u00f3n, representative of the Environment Unit of the Consejo de Pueblos Atacame\u00f1os, Chile, stated: \u201c<\/span>They are trying to secure production for 30 years to exploit lithium in fragile ecosystems such as salt flats<\/b>, 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Ver\u00f3nica Ch\u00e1vez, 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: \u201cWhat we are defending is our life, that of plants, domestic and wild animals, vicu\u00f1as, 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. <\/span>It is bread for today, hunger for tomorrow, and we will be sacrificed in order to extract this mineral<\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    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. \u201cToday, there are extraction sites for rare earth elements, coltan, copper, and other strategic minerals, most of which operate without any state control… <\/span>Mining activity is alien to the knowledge systems and legal order of the vast majority of Amazonian indigenous peoples<\/b>,\u201d he emphasized.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Finally, Liliana \u00c1vila, 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. \u201c<\/span>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<\/b>,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

    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 Fundaci\u00f3n Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) and Asamblea PUCAR\u00c1 of Argentina; the Centro de Documentaci\u00f3n e Informaci\u00f3n Bolivia (CEDIB) and the\u00a0 Human Rights Collective Empod\u00e9rate of Bolivia; ONG FIMA, Defensa Ambiental, and Fundaci\u00f3n Tant\u00ed of Chile.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categoria"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1397"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1445,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397\/revisions\/1445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humedalesandinos.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}