Brazil denounced in OAS for Doce river tragedy
Another 13 cases of human rights violations caused by mining in the country will also be debated
Brazil will have to provide answers to the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), the main body monitoring human rights violations on the continent, on why it has failed to protect populations impacted by the mining industry, in particular the 3.2 million people affected directly and indirectly by the bursting of a waste dam owned by the companies Samarco, Vale and BHP Billiton in the town of Mariana, state of Minas Gerais. The incident, which occurred in November 2015, is considered the worst environmental and social disaster in Brazil’s history.
The denouncement will be presented to the Brazilian government by representatives of 15 civil society organizations at a thematic hearing to be held tomorrow, June 8, in Santiago, Chile. Conectas is one of the petitioners in the case. The hearing will be broadcast live on the IACHR website starting at 1 pm (Brasília time).
In the report prepared for the meeting, the organizations listed a total of 14 cases, including the Samarco dam incident, in which there are allegations of severe human rights violations caused by mining activities. Among them is the project to expand the Carajás complex, owned by Vale, which affects 22 towns in the states of Pará and Maranhão, and the Minas-Rio project in the Minas Gerais state municipality of Conceição do Mato Dentro, developed by the Brazilian company MMX and acquired by the multinational Anglo American.
The organizations will also denounce the lack of participation by the affected communities in the preparation of the billion-dollar settlement agreement signed between the companies and the federal government and state governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo in the Mariana case. The agreement was ratified at the end of May and the new Minister of the Environment, Sarney Filho, has indicated that he will revise some of its clauses.
The accounts of the cases contain repeated violations of the rights to housing, to decent work, to cultural integrity, to life, to territory and to free, prior and informed consultation for indigenous populations.
They also demonstrate the negative impact that fluctuating demand on the international market, tax incentives, relaxation of legislation and the undermining of licensing and regulatory agencies have on the protection of populations that live with mining exploration – a situation that could worsen with the possible approval, in Congress, of legislative bills such as Constitutional Amendment 65/12, which would in practice abolish the environmental licensing process.
- Click here to read the report prepared by the organizations.
Crisis in the IACHR
The hearing on the impacts of mining on human rights in Brazil is occurring in the midst of the worst financial crisis in the history of the IACHR. In May, the president of the body, James Cavallaro, said that without an emergency rescue, the Commission will have to lay off 40% of its staff, limit its activities and suspend its next two sessions of hearings scheduled for 2016. Click here to learn more about this situation.
