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Last Update: July 16, 2008
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Case: La Oroya
Lead contamination and smelting metals
In November 2005, Earthjustice and The Center of Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA), in representation of a group of citizens from La Oroya, asked the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) to take immediate action to protect the right to life and health of the residents of La Oroya, Peru. Subsequently, petition of AIDA and a Peruvian Attorney have joined, but this measure has been endorsed by numerous organization from Peru.
The purpose of this request is to search, through the intervention on an international organization, a solution to the most urgent aspects inside the complexities within the public health situation presented in La Oroya. The application mechanism of these measures is a process of precautionary nature that is enabled on the Interamerican Commission when it seeks to reverse a situation of gravity and urgency that affects one or some of the fundamental rights recognized in the Interamerican Convention of Human Rights and not specifically the statement that a State has violates one or more Human Rights.
La Oroya is living a pollution situation that is affecting the life or each citizen, especially children health, being this situation even recognized by the state. Moreover, in the context of this situation, there is a social conflict based on the tension between the right to work and the right to health, rights that should be complementary, not mutually exclusive. Because of the tension generated the victims and others who have been working and expressing its intention to protect the right to health in La Oroya, is facing an unacceptable situation of harassment.
All the issues that are involved in this type of conflict clearly affect the human rights of each of the inhabitants of La Oroya. In this sense, it is clear the obligation of the Peruvian State to respond adequately to reverse this kind of situation integrally and not preserving a series of rights in detriment of others. Raising the trouble in these terms is to simplify a situation in the extreme of perceiving that are Human Rights violations that are acceptable.
Peru has the duty, made to international community (in the case in question before the Organization of American States), to ensure trough concrete actions the right of life of the victims of this case and others inhabitants of Oroya, free of severe and possibly irreparable impacts to health caused by excessive environmental pollution or harassment situations. Especially for children who are even more affected by this situation.
The objective is to be able to solve this situation and encourage and lead the efforts currently done by the Peruvian State in the area to a concrete improvement of the conditions that currently affect the life and health of the people. This is why we raised the request for provisional measures. They are not directed at any point to influence the relationship between Peru and the Company responsible for economic exploitation priority in the area, but to determine together with the Peruvian State the best and fastest way to ensure the inhabitants of La Oroya of all ages their fundamental rights, today highly committed.
The measures that we ask this Commission to dictate are translated into concrete actions that tend to directly meet the needs of the population of La Oroya on this field. Furthermore, they tend to improve and prevent damage to life, especially of a significant number of children who are particularly affected by the situation. Also, they seek to neutralize the agents who are transforming La Oroya in a scene of conflict that is destroying social ties attentive to that generated a dissociation and even a confrontation between two issues witch are not excluded: the right to work and the roght to health and life.
At present the measures are sorted and we are working with the Peruvian state to enable it to implement the health measures that people need. Likewise, the Inter-American Commission is giving formality to the complaint we have presented, analyzing the admissibility of a complaint about violations of human rights of this population under arguments related to the same facts giving rise to the request for provisional measures
