More than ten million Peruvians, the 31.15% of the population ingests toxins such as heavy metals in the water they drinkhighlighted this Thursday the UN special rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation,* citing data from the Ministry of Health of Peru and calling on the government to address the problem posed by this poisoning, mainly due to mining, which puts the health of current and future generations at risk.
Pedro Arrojo-Agudo recently visited Peru, in the midst of the troubled political environment in the Andean country. “I have tried to analyze the problems that break the human rights to water and sanitation beyond the current situation,” he explained, noting that these problems have their roots in actions and omissions over decades.
The serious situation in Cajamarca
In their observations After the mission in the country, he stated that his visit to the Cajamarca region confirmed the seriousness of the health conditions of the population inflicted by mining activities.
“Beyond the seriousness of environmental damage, with the drying up of lagoons, wetlands and springs, the disappearance of species and the death of fish, the blood tests promoted by the Bambamarca municipality are alarming, revealing heavy metals in 100% of its inhabitants”, pointed out the expert.
He added that the inaction of the National Water Authority, which denies the evidence of toxic contamination, has given rise to a great mistrust of the population in public institutions.
Arrojo-Agudo warned that while Peru’s Constitution conforms to international human rights standards and recognizes the priority of water for human consumption about any other use, this precept is often broken.
He took up the example of Cajamarca, stressing that in the capital city of that province, 70% of the population drinks water previously used by a mining company.
In addition, he expressed concern about the difficulty accessing independent analysis about the presence of contaminants.
The rapporteur recognized Peru’s efforts in terms of legislation and public policies related to water and sanitation, although he expressed concern regarding its effective implementation.
“It is necessary change the traditional approaches to water as a pure productive resource for a sustainable ecosystem approach based on human rights”, he said.
Arrojo-Agudo called, on the other hand, to promote a integrated management that allows overcoming the current dispersion of powers by reinforcing municipal and community capacities in the management of water and sanitation services.
* The special rapporteurs and independent experts are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms established by the Council to address specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN personnel.
recommendations
Some of their preliminary recommendations regarding toxic discharges are:
- stop new concessions in basin headwaters and effectively implement the Law for the Protection of Basin Headwaters, guaranteeing the effective participation of the populations involved
- Urgently activate legislation in force for the remediation of environmental liabilities with adequate financing
- Generate legislation that emphasizes the Sustainable management – regulation and monitoring – of underground aquifers with the participation of civil society, closing illegal wells and avoiding new concessions that aggravate unsustainability
- Prioritize supply satisfaction of drinking water continuously on productive uses
- allow the independent research and monitoring and transparent analysis of possible toxic contamination of supplies and epidemiological analysis of the consequences on public health
- guarantee the total transparency of mining contracts and the management of the farms, both in what is extracted and in the discharges generated, with monitoring open to citizen participation
During his visit to Peru, Arrojo-Agudo met with representatives of the government, civil society, indigenous peoples and peasants, and local authorities.
The rapporteur will present a full report with his findings and recommendations to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September 2023.
* The special rapporteurs and independent experts are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms established by the Council to address specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN personnel.
