On Monday, the Committee for the Defence of Water and Páramo of Santurbán, Colombia rallied outside the Ministry of the Environment in Bogota, Colombia. They presented more than 4,000 signatures to Vice Minister Mauricio Cabrera demanding that a Temporary Reserve Area in the Santurbán region of the Santander Department, northeastern Colombia, be put into effect immediately. This designation would prohibit approvals of environmental permits for mining in the area, including for the Soto Norte gold and copper project, majority owned and operated by Canadian company Aris Mining in a joint venture with Mubadala of the United Arab Emirates.
The Ministry of Environment issued a draft resolution in favour of protecting Santurbán in late November and has held a series of public consultations to hear the opinions of affected communities and local organizations on the draft resolution. The Consultation period ended Monday.
The Committee supports the resolution and calls for its publication and implementation as part of their more than decade-long struggle to defend water supplies and fragile ecosystems, such as the páramo, from the incursion of mining projects in the area.
As a result of their efforts, the Committee has faced intimidation and stigmatization for years. Most recently, tensions have been increasing and the intimidation tactics against the Committee have been ramping up since the Committee organized a massive march on October 18, 2024 for the defense of water and the Santurban Paramo. These tensions came to a head on December 4 when persons supportive of Aris Mining’s project circulated a pamphlet prohibiting entry of people not from the province of Soto Norte, specifically calling out members of the Committee.
We join other international organizations to stand in solidarity with the Committee and to support their demands to Colombian authorities.
While we wrote to the Canadian embassy on December 23 of last year to ensure the protection of human rights and environmental defenders at a Canadian mine site and its surrounding communities, we have yet to receive a response. We therefore reiterate our call to the Canadian embassy:
- To support the Petro government’s resolution, Decree 034-2024 which promotes the protection of environmentally sensitive areas from large-scale projects.
- To ensure the protection of the members of the Committee who peacefully carry out their important work in defense of human rights and the communities in the Páramo.
- To implement Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders and take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of of the collective, the Committee for the Defense of Water and the Páramo Santurbán.
- To respond to Canadian civil society organizations when they raise the alarm about increased risk of human rights violations in areas where Canadian mining companies are operating.
Photo: A member of the Committee for the Defence of Water and Páramo of the Santurbán, Colombia, presents more than 4,000 signatures to Ministry of the Environment demanding that a Temporary Reserve Area in the Santurbán region be formalized immediately. (Comité Santurbán)