Summary and conclusions of "The Congress for Life, Autonomy, and Territorial Permanence" in La Guajira, Colombia:

By: Emma Banks
Anthropology Ph.D Student
Vanderbilt University

 Between August 7 and 9, communities affected by the Cerrejón coalmine in La Guajira hosted "The Congress for Life, Autonomy, and Territorial Permanence." During these three days, with support from the NGOs Cajar and CINEP, communities came together to host a tribunal against aggression by the mine in their territory, a visit to sacred Afro-Colombian and indigenous sites, and Autonomous Consultation voting in two Wayuu communities.  This event was the first of its kind in Colombia.  Representatives of national and international NGOs and human rights organizations attended the event as observers and jury members on the tribunal.

I had the honor of being a jury member in the "Tribunal Against Mining Agression in La Guajira" on August 7 held in El Cerro de Hato Nuevo, a Wayuu reservation.  During the first session, we heard testimony from Afro-Colombian and indigenous people accusing Cerrejón of violating their cultural and autonomous rights.  Indigenous Wayuu representatives spoke of losing their language and cultural practices.  All communities in the area have lost access to communal lands on which they once fished, hunted and gathered medicinal plants.  Displaced communities such as the Afro-Colombian community of Tabaco recounted how their social fabric has been torn when they lost their lands.  Communities traditionally reliant on agriculture have lost their ability to provide for their families from the land.  Both Afro-Colombian and Wayuu indigenous witnesses claimed Cerrejón has violated their ancestral land, and thus their autonomy and rights to cultural preservation.  Furthermore, many reported that Cerrejón attempted to divide communities by intimidating and bribing leaders, offering compensation to only select families, and discouraging resistance.


Next, community members and workers from the Sintracarbon union presented evidence that Cerrejón has violated their labor and economic rights.  Similar to those who spoke about autonomy, witnesses from the community spoke of the loss of agricultural lands due to soil and water contamination, displacement, and resettlement in semi-urban areas.  Witnesses recounted that they while they were once self-sufficient producers through hunting, gathering, and agriculture, they are now consumers of food and other goods.  Many times, Cerrejón promised communities employment, yet failed to fulfill this promise.  Workers from the mine reported that Cerrejón has tried to divide them by increasing the number of third-party contracted workers who do not receive the same benefits or salaries as workers employed directly by the mine, even though they do the same job.  Union leaders from Cerrejón continue to be threatened and intimidated by paramilitary.  Cerrejón refuses to accepts its responsibility for injured or sick employees who develop conditions such as silicosis as a direct result from working in the mine.  Furthermore, workers who have had to resign due to injury have their health insurance and benefits taken away.  Cerrejón has failed to better the economic situation of communities in its impact zone and has violated the rights of its workers.

The next group on witnesses spoke on the health and environmental impacts of Cerrejón's open pit coal mine.  Community members report extreme contamination of the rivers and streams, which causes skin and gastrointestinal infections, especially in women and children.  They also report air and soil contamination.  People of the community complain of vision, kidney, heart, and respiratory infections - illnesses unknown to these communities before the arrival of the mine.   Much of the older generation has died from sadness due to the trauma of being displaced.  Cerrejón is responsible for both mental and physical illnesses in the impacted communities.

On August 8, Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities invited visitors to their sacred sites to demonstrate how things were before the arrival of the mine and what the communities are losing.  Not only are communities losing their ancestral territories, but also the history and folklore tied to these places, their sense of autonomy, and their traditional agricultural, gathering, fishing, and hunting practices.  Talking to members of the community who described where lakes, ponds, and rivers used to flow, where certain animal species used to roam, and where people used to live off the land served as a powerful reminder to the jury and observers of the high stakes involved in the tribunal and autonomous consultation events.

On August 9, two Wayuu communities Tamaquitos ii and Provincial held an autonomous consultation process where community members held an internal discussion, then voted in two groups: youth 10-17, and adults 18 and over, "yes" or "no" to a "territory free of mining."  In both communities, over 90 % of voters chose a "territory free of mining."  Thus, the communities have voted to remove Cerrejón from their lands.  This event marked the first time where communities decided to stop asking the mine to provide better conditions, and instead proposed a future free of the mine.

The jury also presented our initial verdict.  We found Cerrejón guilty of violating the rights of communities, disrupting the harmonic relationship they once had with the land and each other.  Many communities were violently displaced by the Colombian army when the mine was owned by Carbacol, a state enterprise.  Other communities have been involuntarily resettled.  Yet, these communities can no longer access their sacred sites, practice agriculture, hunt or fish on communal territory.   Cerrejón has violated their rights to self-determination, autonomy, and cultural production.  Community members who still live in the zone of mining influence are suffering from disastrous health and environmental impacts, of which Cerrejón is responsible.  Cerrejón has not completed its responsibility in resettling all communities.  Cerrejón has also compromised the quality of water from the Rio Ranchería and its tributary streams, denying communities the right to clean water.  We also found the mine guilty of violating labor rights, including the lack of compensation for sick and injured workers, as well as not taking proper measures to better protect these workers.  

We found the Colombian state complicit by omission, having forgetting its responsibility to protect, respect and guaranty the rights of peasants, indigenous people, and afro-Colombians.  We also found the shareholders BHP Bilton, AnglAmerican and Glencore/Xstrate guilty of pursuing profit without respecting the rights ETC of communities in the zone.  The home countries of these companies (Switzerland, The United Kingdom, and Australia) are complicet for failing to regulate these corporations or apply the domestic standards for business to operations in Colombia.

We concluded it is impossible for communities to live a dignified life while the mine still operates.

We plan to release an official verdict later this month.