In 2019, two-thirds of worldwide environmental defenders killings took place in Latin America. This trend is not novel. In this last decade, communities that defend ecosystems and rich biodiversity hotspots in Latin America have been consistently the worst-affected worldwide: at least two thousand victimizing events against men and women and two hundred against organizations defending the environment and the land were recorded.

Last month, several international and Colombian NGOs filed simultaneous complaints against Glencore, BHP, and Anglo American, parent companies of the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, alleging serious human rights violations and devastating environmental pollution. The complaints were filed with the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the OECD in Australia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

For months, CAL has worked on strategies designed to hold corporate actors accountable for their role in the Colombian armed conflict. A conflict that lasted for over five decades, displaced millions of families, and left thousands of casualties. A few months ago, we published this blog which provides background on the Colombian armed conflict and CAL’s multi-layered project developing unique legal strategies to hold corporate actors responsible for their conduct.