In England, victims of Mariana and Brumadinho denounce violations to investors

Cáritas, Conectas, BHRRC and Churches and Mining Network take people affected by dam collapses to Bournemouth for a meeting with mining sector shareholders

Mônica Santos and Marcela Rodrigues, victims of the environmental and social crimes of Mariana and Brumadinho were in England to denounce violations to international shareholders (Photo: Cáritas-Minas Gerais)

Mônica Santos and Marcela Rodrigues were united by a tragic destiny, in their struggle for the prevention of environmental and social disasters and reparations for the people affected by dam collapses. In 2015, Monica was one of the victims of the Fundão dam disaster in Mariana. In 2019, the collapse of the Córrego do Feijão dam in Brumadinho changed Marcela’s life forever.

This week, the two crossed the Atlantic, together with staff from Caritas Minas Gerais, Conectas, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) and the Churches and Mining Network to tell their stories at a series of meetings in England with mining sector shareholders, civil society organizations and the press. The purpose is to denounce the violations of the mining model used in Minas Gerais, so that tragedies like these are not repeated.

The group met with nearly 200 investors this Wednesday, December 4, during the panel “Update on the Investor Tailing Dams Initiative” at Conference 2019 of the Local Authority Pension Fund, in Bournemouth. 

At the meeting, Mônica and Marcela denounced the flaws and injustices committed in the processes of making reparations for the damage caused to the Doce and Paraopeba river basins by the mining companies Vale, Samarco and BHP. The two Brazilians also exposed the structural flaws of the mining model and the responsibilities of the public authorities, companies and investors in the sector.  

UN rapporteur in Brazil

In a visit to Brazil, the UN special rapporteur on toxic wastes, Baskut Tuncak, was in Brasília on Monday, December 2, for an official round of meetings with civil society, companies and government bodies. The independent expert will also visit the states of Maranhão, Minas Gerais and Pernambuco, where he will meet with organizations and victims of environmental and social disasters to assess the rights violations committed by extractive industries, the chemical industry and agriculture.

Baskut will stay in Brazil until December 13, when he will wrap up his visit with a press conference in Brasília, to announce his preliminary observations on the situation in the country.