Human Rights & Environmental HARMs at Cerrejón Mine
Photo: Open cast coal mining in section of Cerrejon Mine
Update 4/09/2023: Mediation with state-owned Irish national electricity supplier, ESB, expected to begin in early 2024
Together with the three complaints lodged against the three (then) parent companies of the Cerrejón mine, GLAN filed a complaint with the Irish National Contact Point (NCP) against the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Ireland’s national electricity provider. Our complaint stressed inter alia that for ESB to purchase coal from the Cerrejón mine, with full knowledge of the human rights violations and environmental harms occurring in La Guajira, does not align with the company’s due diligence duties under the OECD Guidelines. After securing an Initial Assessment (IA) confirming that the complaint merits further examination, we are now pleased to confirm that we expect to enter mediation soon.
Additionally, we’ve secured the participation of indigenous communities' representatives in this process - a request which had been consistently refused by the Irish NCP’s Swiss counterpart. This was a decisive step which reinforced our coalition’s motivation to engage with the process, which we hope will start mid-autumn this year or early 2024.
Update 20/12/22: Swiss National Contact Point calls on Glencore to carry out due diligence at its Cerrejón Coal mine in Colombia
The OECD National Contact Point (NCP) in Switzerland published its Final Statement in the Complaint against Glencore. The Australian and UK NCPs will soon publish Final Statements regarding BHP and Anglo American respectively. Read our reaction to the Swiss Final Statement and the shortcomings of the NCP in handling of this complaint here.
Together with Colombian partners and Christian Aid, we are helping indigenous & Afro-Colombian communities fight back against the extensive harms from the infamous Cerrejón mine.
The Cerrejón mine in Colombia, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, is linked to the forced displacement of indigenous Wayúu and Afro-Colombian communities and widespread, persistent, and extreme pollution of air and water, and human rights abuses.
The Cerrejón mine
Communities living in La Guajira in Colombia face forced displacement and environmental destruction because of the operation of the Cerrejón mine. The mine is owned by Anglo America, BHP, and Glencore. Irish energy company ESB, like other energy providers, has bought millions of tonnes of coal from Cerrejón.
The OECD Guidelines
All OECD countries must apply and implement their Multi-National Enterprise, which are certain minimum standards of business conduct. They include respect for human rights and the environment. National Contact Points (NCPs) oversee companies’ compliance.
OUR CASE
On 19 January 2021 GLAN filed simultaneous complaints to the NCPs in UK, Switzerland and Australia where Cerrejón’s parent companies are based. We also filed two complaints to the Irish NCP about ESB’s relationship with Cerrejón and the sales wing of Cerrjon known as CMC which is operates from Dublin. We argue that the mine must progressively closed down and its impacts remedied.
Update 10/2/22: Initial assessments made in complaints against mining giants.
Multiple National Contact Points (NCPs) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been investigating three international mining giants (BHP, Anglo American and Glencore) and Ireland’s state-owned energy provider, the ESB, over serious human rights abuses and devastating environmental pollution at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia. On 10 January 2022 the Swiss, Australian and UK NCPs all decided that our complaints against the parent companies (BHP, Anglo American and Glencore) deal with a credible issue & should progress. The Irish NCP also delivered its initial assessment of ESB and also the Dublin-based sales arm of the Cerrejón mine, CMC and found that those complaints should progress.
The parallel complaints were filed (19 Jan 2021) simultaneously in Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) in partnership with Colombian and international human rights and environmental NGOs - CINEP, CAJAR, AIDA, ABColombia, ASK and Christian Aid Ireland.
Watch the video on the situation facing communities and land defenders fighting back against the mine in La Guajira:
The Cerrejón mine in Colombia is linked to the forced displacement of indigenous Wayúu and Afro-Colombian communities and widespread, persistent, and extreme pollution of air and water. High concentrations of harmful metals, which can cause diseases such as cancer, have been found by Colombia’s Constitutional Court to exist in the blood of those living near to the mine. Studies have shown that air pollution is driving elevated levels of cellular damage, in turn raising the risk of cancer, DNA damage, and chromosomal instability for those living in the region.
In 2020, Cerrejón’s operations were denounced by several prominent UN human rights experts. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment said that the case was ‘one of the most disturbing situations’ he had encountered in his time in the post.
Cerrejón is co-owned by three mining giants: Anglo America, BHP, and Glencore. These companies are based in the UK, Australia, and Switzerland. Cerrejón also has links to Ireland, which were set out in a detailed report by Christian Aid in February 2020. Irish state-owned energy company ESB has bought millions of tonnes of coal from Cerrejón over the past two decades, and this relationship was recently criticised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Documents
GLAN Press Release (International)
Parent Company Complaint (English)
Parent Company Complaint (Spanish)
Electricity Supply Board Complaint (full text)
Partners
AIDA (the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense)
ask! (Arbeitsgruppe Schweiz Kolumbien)
CAJAR (Colectivo de Abogados ‘José Alvear Restrepo’)
CINEP (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular)
Media
Legal Case
All OECD member countries must implement the MNE Guidelines. The Guidelines set certain minimum standards for multinational enterprises. These include respecting internationally recognised human rights, avoiding adverse environmental impacts, and disclosing certain information about business conduct. Companies’ compliance with the Guidelines is subject to government-backed oversight by National Contact Points (NCPs) in every OECD country.
In January 2021, GLAN submitted complaints to the Australian, Swiss, and UK NCPs about Anglo America, BHP, and Glencore. By causing adverse human rights and environmental impacts, these parent companies have failed to meet the minimum standards set by the Guidelines.
The complaints outline how the Cerrejón mine, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, is linked to the forced displacement of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities and the widespread, persistent and extreme pollution of the air and water in the vicinity of the mine. High concentrations of harmful metals, which can cause diseases such as cancer, were found by Colombia’s Constitutional Court to exist in the blood of those living nearby.
The complaints point to Cerrejón’s failure to comply with multiple Colombian court judgments against it. In September, several prominent UN human rights experts called for some of the mine’s operations to be suspended following a request to intervene by Wayuu indigenous people. We allege that the parent companies of the Cerrejón mine, as its joint owners, are responsible under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises for the harms caused by its operations. Water shortages in La Guajira, which have been caused by Cerrejón’s coal mining, are now being exacerbated by global climate change which is in part caused by coal combustion. Cerrejón’s activities thus combine to heighten the severity of the adverse impacts felt in La Guajira.
GLAN also submitted complaints to the Irish NCP about CMC and ESB. CMC is the company that sells and markets all of Cerrejón’s coal. It has contributed to the harms caused by Cerrejón. ESB is an Irish state-owned energy company which has bought millions of tonnes of coal from Cerrejón. It is directly linked to the mine through their business relationship and has failed to mitigate abuses in its supply chain.
Next steps
In order to comply with the Guidelines, GLAN submits that the three mining giants must progressively close down the mine, restore the environment in the surrounding area to the fullest extent possible, and provide financial compensation to the affected communities. CMC must stop selling Cerrejón coal. ESB must terminate its relationship with Cerrejón permanently. We are now heading towards mediation with the Irish NCP.
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