Global mining giants, BHP (Australia), Glencore (Switzerland) and Anglo American (U.K.) will be investigated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the operation of Cerrejon, Latin America's largest open-air mine owned by these three companies in Colombia. Local indigenous people and support groups have complained of serious environmental damage and human rights abuses. The three companies face severe pressure to respond depending on progress in their investigations. (The photo is an image and does not have anything to do with the article)

The killing of indigenous environmental activists in Latin America has become a serious social problem. It look like the work of a criminal organization which illegally mines and logging of minerals and wood, and both are "Man who deprives land from the ancestor" for the indigenous people though it is the matter of a different dimension from the company’s activity. The more lawlessness expands, the more severe the eyes are on companies.

The Cerrejon coal mine is located in north eastern Colombia, near the Venezuelan border in La Guajira province. It measures about 690 square kilometers and the three companies are owned by three thirds each. The plant began operations in 1985 and is mining approximately 25 million tons in 2019.

The surroundings are living area to the Wayuu, the largest force of Colombian indigenous peoples. According to an appeal to the OECD, coal mine development and mining have driven many indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians (descendants of blacks brought to Colombia as slaves from Africa) from their settlements, as well as air pollution and river water pollution. Moreover, it is said that the health damage of the neighboring resident became serious by the environmental pollution. For this reason, indigenous peoples and human rights groups have called for the immediate closure of the Cerrejon coal mine.

David Boyd, special spokesman for the UN Human Rights Council, called on the Colombian government to suspend some of the Cerrejon coal mines in September last year, recognizing the serious environmental damage caused by the coal mine and the health hazards of the Wayuu.

Colombia's Constitutional Court also ordered the mine to take measures to protect the surrounding environment and the health of its inhabitants, as high concentrations of hazardous metals were detected in the blood of residents living near the mine.

According to ABC News in Australia, the Cerrejon coal mine side has discussed these decisions with the indigenous peoples and explained that they have reached a basic agreement on responding to indigenous demands and building health centers due to environmental and health issues, which the indigenous peoples deny.

Poverty is becoming more serious in La Guajira province, where the Cerrejon coal mine is located. Human rights advocates have pointed out that food and drinking water are not sufficiently available, especially in the suburbs, and indigenous living conditions are deteriorating and international support is needed as soon as possible.

Taro Yanaka / Journalist

His coverage is a wide range of coverage from town stories to international affairs, specializes in economics, diplomacy, North America, Latin America, South Pacific, Organized Crime, and Terrorism.  His hobby is driving around the world.

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