Rural communities in Cajamarca stand against mining threat
In Cajamarca, Peru, communities confront a challenging reality characterised by socio-environmental conflicts, the defence of their territories against mining expansion, and the criminalisation of human rights defenders (HRDs). While they assert their rights and safeguard their land from mining activities, their voices seek to be amplified, particularly on significant occasions such as World Environment Day. In this interview, Bacilio Mayta Chávez from the Rondas Campesinas de Cajamarca in Peru explains this situation.
What is occurring in the department of Cajamarca concerning human rights, and how is this situation connected to socio-environmental conflicts and mining activities in the region?
In Cajamarca, human rights are critically compromised due to socio-environmental conflicts stemming from mining activities. We are in a vulnerable situation, with limited access to essential services. This region is home to the Yanacocha mine, one of the largest in Latin America, which has faced allegations of water pollution, health issues, and forced displacement within communities.
In addition, we have faced criminalisation for defending the environment and our territory. Environmental HRDs have been subjected to intimidation, legal harassment, and reprisals for opposing mining projects like Conga, which threaten vital water sources in the region. Many HRDs are forced to leave their territories or resist under conditions of extreme vulnerability. Mechanisms that should guarantee our protection, such as the Intersectoral Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, are ineffective in practice. On the contrary, they have fostered fear, demobilisation, and deep mistrust due to the inaction of the State.
What are the main threats HRDs face in Cajamarca, especially those who oppose mining projects, and how has this affected communities?
We face various threats that jeopardise our safety and work. The Peruvian State has turned to the justice system to lodge hundreds of complaints against us, aiming to delegitimise our efforts. Through the misuse of criminal law and in alliance with interests linked to both formal and illegal mining, HRDs have been accused of crimes such as extortion, trespassing, and property damage. In many instances, these complaints arise in response to opposition to extractive projects in our territories and the lawful exercise of communal justice. Extreme cases, like Fernando Chuquilín Ramos and Eduardo Rodas Rojas’, which involve hundreds of complaints filed against them, illustrate the systematic use of this strategy to silence community resistance. We face constant attacks, threats, and arbitrary sentences, as in the case of indigenous journalist César Estrada, who was sentenced in 2017 to ten years in prison alongside with a Rondero (peasant leader) based on fabricated evidence. When HRDs were attacked, complaints were dismissed by the authorities and remain unpunished, as seen in the case of a woman human rights defender, Elita Yopla Herrera, who has been attacked several times since February 2024, without consequences.
To what extent are mining companies and the regional government responding to the demands of communities affected by environmental pollution and the destruction of natural resources?
Neither the mining companies nor the regional government have taken adequate measures to address the demands of communities affected by environmental pollution and the degradation of natural resources. Companies are also evading their responsibility towards individuals affected by heavy metals, whose medical treatment is complex and costly. The Peruvian State limits care to basic health centres that lack the medicines and resources necessary to treat these cases. This absence of concrete responses highlights the serious neglect and abandonment experienced by communities considering the impacts of mining.
How are the communities of Cajamarca responding to threats to their rights, and what strategies of organisation or resistance are they adopting in the face of state inaction or repression?
Due to the absence of the State in our territories, we have organised ourselves to provide support and security to our communities, exercise communal justice, and defend our territory. In the case of HRDs, faced with constant threats and human rights violations, we have promoted awareness-raising and reporting actions, presenting their cases to international human rights protection bodies within the United Nations system and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Furthermore, through community organisation, we have implemented surveillance, accompaniment, and collective defence mechanisms to prevent attacks and threats. Additionally, we offer legal advice in cases of criminalisation, both within the Peruvian justice system and before international bodies.
How can the international community show solidarity with the communities of Cajamarca who are defending their territories against mining and human rights violations?
The international community can demonstrate solidarity by raising awareness of the violations we face, issuing statements denouncing these situations, and demanding that the Peruvian State and mining companies operating in the territory respect human rights. It is also essential to continue receiving your accompaniment and support in the territory, observing and monitoring judicial processes, and providing legal and organisational assistance.
In this current context, where the State approves initiatives like the APCI Law, which limits victims' access to justice and the work of HRDs or promotes a Bill which seeks to criminalise peaceful protest through concepts such as “urban terrorism”, the international community can play a crucial role in supporting our complaints and demonstrating solidarity with our human rights demands.
