NGOs demand closure of Colombian coal mine

A coalition of human rights and environmental NGOs led by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) calls on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to close the Cerrejón coal project in Colombia, which is owned by Anglo American (LON: AAL) , BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP) and Glencore (LON: GLEN). This week activists also filed complaints with the OECD National Contact Points in Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK complaining of "serious human rights violations and devastating pollution" at Cerrejón. According to GLAN, the complaints set out how Cerrejón is linked to the forced displacement of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, air and water pollution around the mine, and high cancer and metal poisoning rates among people in the communities around the facility. Cerrejón is an integrated mining and transportation complex in the Colombian province of La Guajira in the northeast of the country, which includes an open pit mine, a 150-kilometer railway line and a Caribbean port. In 2020 the mine produced 12.4 million tons of coal, almost 50% less than the year before. But the NGOs that are cracking down on the mine want production to be zeroed. "If they are successful, the three companies that jointly own the Cerrejón Mine must take steps to comply with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including gradually closing the mine completely and restoring the environment," GLAN said in a media statement. "The lawsuits against the mining giants also demand full compensation for the communities for the damage they suffered." The activists also filed separate lawsuits against the Dublin-based Coal Marketing Company, which is the exclusive marketer of coal from the Colombian mine, and Ireland's Electricity Supply Board, which was a major buyer of the coal from the mine.