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For two decades, the ESB has imported millions of tons of coal from the #Cerrejón mine in Colombia, despite years of environmental & human rights abuses. Today we @ChristianAidIrl @GLAN_LAW & partners launch a new case seeking justice for those impacted. https://www.ft.com/content/f63adfa4-1b63-4e9c-809e-138815d9ee50
We've filed cases under @OECD human rights mechanisms against the mine's owners & importers, in partnership with brave Colombian colleagues @Ccajar @CINEP_PPP @AIDAorg - who've spent years documenting & challenging abuses at Cerrejón.
The ESB as a state-owned company cannot ignore that much of the coal burned at Moneypoint, Co Clare, has been drawn from a supply chain littered with serious abuses -forced displacement, intimidation, ecological destruction, pollution of air, soil & water: https://www.christianaid.ie/resources/undermining-human-rights-ireland-esb-and-cerrejon-coal
The mine has used about 16m litres of water per day - equal to nearly 67k people. It’s pumped back into the Ranchería river, which has sustained the indigenous Wayúu people for generations, who now face water scarcity, pollution & serious health problems.
"A 2017 analysis of water quality found that levels of lead, cadmium, barium, manganese, iron & zinc repeatedly surpassed levels permissible under environmental legislation and WHO standards, presenting a clear threat to both the natural environment and human health.”
"A complaint brought by legal collective @Ccajar on behalf of Moisés Uriana, a three-year-old boy from the indigenous Wayúu reserve who presented with severe respiratory problems & began vomiting blood, provoked national outcry & a court order for Cerrejón to reduce emissions.”
Last year I was on a panel with Monica Pushaina of the Wayúu people & her testimony was harrowing: "The mining company arrived promising progress & development. But our water sources have dried up, territory destroyed- this is what they call development?”
In 2019, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern over Ireland's involvement with the mine, urging an inquiry, access to remedy, and compensation for victims of human rights abuses @BHRIblog …https://businesshumanrightsireland.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/un-committee-on-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination-concerned-by-irish-business-involvement-in-rights-violations/
In September, several prominent UN human rights experts called for some of the mine's operations to be suspended, as they had “seriously damaged the environment and health of the country’s largest indigenous community.” https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26306&LangID=E
This report from @SorchaPollak really captures the impact & ask from communities in La Guajira: "We’re trying to show people what our daily life is like - to question the energy we consume; where does it come from, how does it get here?" https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/coal-stained-with-colombian-blood-is-bought-and-sold-in-dublin-1.3885023
In Cerrejón, we see the role that powerful corporate actors can play in fuelling human rights abuses, and the failure of states to hold them accountable. But there's been a shift in recent years, driven by impacted communities & civil society campaigning: https://corporatejustice.org/news/16793-mandatory-human-rights-due-diligence-an-issue-whose-time-has-come
Disasters like that at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013, when 1138 garment workers lost their lives, have underscored the need for change & driven home a key point: MNCs are responsible for abuses along their supply chains, be they in clothes or in coal: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/may/30/rana-plaza-bangladesh-forced-labour-supply-chains
This has been accepted & endorsed by states in rules agreed at @OECD & @UN level - MNCs must identify, prevent and remedy abuses along their supply chains, but many simply don't. See @TCDBusiness research here: https://www.tcd.ie/business/news-events/human-rights-benchmark-2020.php
Most EU states have so far failed to act seriously on this. Bar some exceptions, Ireland & others have taken an almost wholly voluntary approach, seeking to ‘encourage’ corporate respect for human rights. See excellent piece by Prof Shane Darcy @BHRIblog: https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0111/1188922-whose-business-is-human-rights/
Ireland has a particular responsibility here, as a hub for some of the biggest MNCs in the world: a champion of the kind of trade & fiscal policies that have seen increasingly complex supply chains, company structures & taxation strategies proliferate. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/EPoverty/Alston-Tax_policy.docx
Cerrejón illustrates this well: sales of the coal are actually booked through a small subsidiary domiciled in Dublin, established in 2003 by its three mining giant owners - BHP, Anglo American & Glencore. In 2018 it recorded $2.7bn revenue. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/irish-firm-s-profit-from-dirty-mine-gzwtbxzzq
Huge profit has been made by a small number of companies, with close Irish involvement, as communities in La Guajira suffered. So we've filed parallel cases across 4 jurisdictions - Ireland, UK, Australia, Switzerland - against the mine's owners: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-19/cerrejon-coal-mine-colombia-in-environment-rights-abuse-probe/13069168
What needs to happen? For the ESB, a permanent end to involvement in Cerrejón, a formal apology to those affected, support for redress, and a detailed human rights policy to stop cases like this in future. For the Irish Govt, new laws for corporate accountability & human rights.
Human rights compliance requires progressive closure of the mine, environmental restoration, compensation. But we should be clear: as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, companies cannot simply wash their hands & leave communities picking up the pieces.
Moneypoint could stop burning coal in the near future; the mine's owners may look at declining profits & decide to sell up. Cases like this are important in ensuring that they do right by affected communities beforehand - support it if you can: https://www.glanlaw.org/cerrejon-coal @GLAN_LAW
