{"id":306445,"date":"2025-10-15T22:15:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T22:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/306445\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T22:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T22:15:16","slug":"un-warns-of-mercury-contamination-in-colombias-atrato-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/306445\/","title":{"rendered":"UN warns of mercury contamination in Colombia’s Atrato River"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining<\/a> in Colombia\u2019s Atrato River basin has created a \u201cserious and ongoing human rights crisis,\u201d threatening the health and survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture.<\/p>\n

In a letter made public<\/a> on Tuesday, three U.N. Human Rights Council special rapporteurs raised concerns with the Colombian government about insufficient compliance with a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling that recognized the Atrato River as a legal entity with rights to protection and restoration.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years have passed and we have seen that there has been insufficient implementation and compliance with the terms of that decision,\u201d Marcos Orellana, the U.N. special rapporteur on toxics and human rights, told The Associated Press. \u201cA big part of the problem stems from the presence of organized crime \u2014 smuggling mercury, smuggling gold, and corruption in military and police forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A mother and her baby wash dishes in the Atrato River, in El Arenal, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

A mother and her baby wash dishes in the Atrato River, in El Arenal, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

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The Atrato River, one of Colombia\u2019s largest waterways, winds nearly 500 miles from the western Andes to the Caribbean Sea through the lush jungles of Choco, one of the country\u2019s most biodiverse yet impoverished regions. It\u2019s home to predominantly Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities that rely on fishing and small-scale farming \u2014 livelihoods now imperiled by toxic pollution.<\/p>\n

Illegal gold mining is now among the main drivers of deforestation and pollution across many of Latin America\u2019s Amazon regions. Soaring gold prices and weak traceability systems have fueled demand<\/a> for illicitly mined gold that often slips into global supply chains. The mercury used to extract the metal has devastated wildlife \u2014 including river dolphins and fish<\/a> \u2014 and contaminated the food sources of Indigenous communities in remote areas of the Amazon.<\/p>\n

More than a third of population exposed to mercu<\/p>\n

ry<\/p>\n

AP reporting last year showed how local residents \u2014 charged with safeguarding the river \u2014 act as watchguards<\/a> of illegal mining and the health of the river, often under threat from armed groups.<\/p>\n

Orellana said the U.N. received evidence showing that more than a third of the population in the Atrato watershed has been exposed to mercury levels exceeding World Health Organization limits. He called the situation \u201cincredibly concerning,\u201d citing the metal\u2019s extreme toxicity and its ability to cause neurological damage, organ failure and developmental disorders in unborn children.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A group of women, part of Asociacion Nuestra Casa Comun, or Our Community House Association, go by boat to an area destroyed by illegal mining, on the Quito River, the Atrato River\u2019s main tributary, near Paimado, Colombia, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

A group of women, part of Asociacion Nuestra Casa Comun, or Our Community House Association, go by boat to an area destroyed by illegal mining, on the Quito River, the Atrato River\u2019s main tributary, near Paimado, Colombia, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

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The 2016 court ruling was hailed globally as a milestone in environmental law, inspiring similar \u201crights of nature\u201d initiatives elsewhere. But Orellana said political turnover, lack of funding and alleged corruption have undermined enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cComplying with a court decision requires institutional commitment over the long term,\u201d he said. \u201cPolitics can interfere, and reality kicks in when budgets don\u2019t follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter \u2014 cosigned by the special rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent \u2014 was sent to the Colombian government more than 60 days ago, Orellana said, but has not yet received a response. Under standard U.N. procedures, governments are given 60 days to reply to such communications before they are made public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my expectation that the government will reply, giving effect to its obligations under international human rights law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s presidential office and Environment Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Illegal mining linked to slavery, prostitution and displacement<\/p>\n

In their communication, the U.N. rapporteurs described the mercury contamination as a violation of the rights to health, life and a clean environment. They urged Colombia to take \u201cimmediate and effective\u201d steps to curb illegal mining, clean up polluted sites and provide medical care for affected communities.<\/p>\n

Mercury is commonly used in small-scale gold mining<\/a> to separate gold from sediment, but when released into rivers it poisons fish and builds up in human tissue. Colombia banned mercury use in mining in 2018, yet enforcement remains weak \u2014 especially in conflict zones dominated by armed groups and criminal networks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Small-scale<\/p>\n

Small-scale miners look for gold at the Atrato River, in Dona Josefa, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

Small-scale miners look for gold at the Atrato River, in Dona Josefa, Colombia, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Ivan Valencia, File)<\/p>\n

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Orellana said his office has received evidence of slavery like labor, forced prostitution and displacement linked to illegal mining operations in the Atrato region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese forms of violence and violations of human rights accompany mercury contamination and must be treated as environmental crimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He urged Colombia to take a leading role in strengthening international mercury controls under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, saying current global regulations have \u201cgaps that need to be closed\u201d to curb cross-border trade.<\/p>\n

Meaningful progress, Orellana added, would mean seeing a decline in the number of hectares being mined \u2014 which has increased since the 2016 ruling \u2014 and ensuring communities have access not just to testing but to specialized health care and clear guidance on how to reduce exposure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe human rights of victims are at stake,\u201d he said. \u201cInternational law requires states to respect and guarantee rights \u2014 not for one day or for one week, but all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in Colombia\u2019s Atrato…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":306446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[3425,1613,10106,12575,12576,356,746,57,2055,210,118,1612,155220,80,2128,159,4217,1206,67,132,68,17344,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-306445","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-central-america","10":"tag-climate-and-environment","11":"tag-colombia","12":"tag-colombia-government","13":"tag-courts","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-government-and-politics","17":"tag-health","18":"tag-human-rights","19":"tag-latin-america","20":"tag-marcos-orellana","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-pollution","23":"tag-science","24":"tag-south-america","25":"tag-united-nations","26":"tag-united-states","27":"tag-unitedstates","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-waterways","30":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115380494828564769","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}