The Inter-American Court condemns Peru for violating the rights of 80 people contaminated by heavy metals

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Eighty citizens of the central mountains of Peru breathe a little relief today.

Adults who, since childhood, have suffered from severe colic, skin rashes, headaches, uncontrollable diarrhea, bronchitis, deafness and permanent exhaustion.

These symptoms have worsened over time due to having very high levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic in their blood, among other heavy metals, due to being victims for decades of the La Oroya metallurgical complex, in the Junín region, and the negligence of the authorities. to remedy the damage.

Through a virtual hearing, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IAC Court) condemned the Peruvian State, finding it guilty of violating multiple rights of this community: to a healthy environment, to health, personal integrity, life, special protection of children, access to information, political participation, judicial guarantees and judicial protection.

This is a historic ruling for a town that in 2011 was named the second most polluted city in the world, according to an analysis by the Blacksmith Institute (currently Pure Earth), an American NGO with a conservationist spirit.

The sentence represents a great step in the search for compensation for the 80 victims, who, after the apathy of the Peruvian justice system, took the case to international bodies in 2006, with the support and advice of the Association for Human Rights (Aprodeh) and the Inter-American Association for the Defense of the Environment (Aida), in addition to the Earthjustice organization.

Although in October 2021 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) established the responsibility of the Peruvian State, the sentence and pronouncement of the Inter-American Court were missing, both supranational and binding institutions.

The ruling is clear in pointing out different actions that the Government must take as reparation: the obligation to investigate the facts and punish those responsible for acts of harassment against environmental defenders;

carry out a diagnosis to determine the state of air, water and soil contamination in La Oroya, which must include a remediation plan and a monitoring system;

provide specialized medical care and free psychological and psychiatric therapies to those affected;

develop an environmental compensation plan with the purpose of recovering the ecosystem and guaranteeing that mining or metallurgical operations are based on the guiding principles on human rights and the environment.

A mother calms her son while the Ministry of Health draws his blood to analyze the level of lead in the blood.David Rochkind (Getty Images)

Added to this is a relocation plan for citizens of La Oroya who wish to move to another location and an effective payment with certain nuances: $15,000 for non-pecuniary damages, an amount that increases to $25,000 in the case of children, women and elderly.

The compensation also increases to $30,000 with respect to two specific cases of people who died from diseases acquired by contamination.

As for six other deceased, their relatives will receive compensation.

The court maintains that the “State failed to comply with its duty to regulate and supervise the activities of the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex.”

“Air pollution has considerably exceeded the respective air quality guidelines established in Peruvian national legislation and has produced the presence of metals in the blood of the population,” he adds.

In 1922 the North American company Cerro de Pasco Cooper Corporation operated there.

Years later, between 1997 and 2009, it passed into the hands of the American Doe Run of Grupo Renco.

Since then, it has been inactive.

“20 years ago, when this fight began, I was with my banner that said that children's health is worth more than gold.

We never gave up, now I am very happy with the Court's decision,” says one of the victims of La Oroya.

Another affected person, Yolanda Zurita, is more cautious, evidencing her skepticism: “What we hope now is for the sentence to be implemented.

That the State fulfills its obligations for the first time and guarantees our rights as environmental defenders.

Compliance with the sentence is the minimum we expect from a State committed to guaranteeing the rights of its citizens."

The organizations that were in charge of defending the 80 citizens of La Oroya also spoke out.

Liliana Ávila, coordinator of Aida's Human Rights and Environment Program, highlights the magnitude of the ruling: “It is a very important advance and a key precedent for environmental justice in Latin America.”

For his part, Christian Huaylinos, coordinator of the legal area of ​​Aprodeh, also appreciated the ruling of the Inter-American Court.

“It sets the parameters of the state's obligation to regulate, supervise and remedy the effects of environmental pollution.

It is also a great satisfaction for the great struggle of two decades on the part of the victims,” he concludes.