IACHR orders Peru to compensate victims of lead poisoning living near mine [View all]

María Paz Rodríguez Galiano | Facultad de Derecho PUCP, PE
MARCH 23, 2024 09:48:51 AM

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) conducted the notification of the judgment in the case of Residents of La Oroya v. Peru this Friday, addressing the Peruvian State’s responsibility for the damage suffered by 80 residents of La Oroya and ordered the payment of compensation to the victims for the damage incurred.

In December 2002, a group of residents of La Oroya, located in the Peruvian highlands, filed a compliance lawsuit against the Ministry of Health and the General Directorate of Environmental Health of Peru, seeking protection of their right to health and a healthy environment. The community argued that the company managing the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex (CMLO) failed to comply with environmental protection standards, leading to extremely high levels of lead and other components in the blood of children and pregnant mothers in the community.

In 2006, the Peruvian Constitutional Court ordered the adoption of measures to protect the community. However, in 2020, the IACHR indicated that, more than 14 years after the court’s decision, there was no evidence that the state had taken effective measures to fully implement the Peruvian judgment.

In its judgment, the court declared the Peruvian State’s international responsibility for violating the right to a healthy environment for the residents of La Oroya. The court noted that Peru, despite being aware that CMLO generated high levels of pollution, did not fulfill its obligations to protect the rights of the population.

More:
https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/03/iachr-orders-peru-to-compensate-victims-of-lead-poisoning-living-near-mine/#















(Before they were apprehended so very late in the game, the company used to wait until dark, then started pumping deadly chemical-laden water into the small river. )