Colombia: danger of forced displacement in Suarez and Buenos Aires

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
13th session
1 March – 26 March 2010

[Exerpt from the declaration]

Several gold mining titles – located in different areas of the two municipalities – have been granted by the Ministry of Mines to private individuals, as well as to the South African multinational AngloGold Ashanti. Several licensees have asked the police to evict the Afro-Colombian communities who mine gold on an artisanal basis at several extraction sites. An attempted evacuation took place on August 6, 2009, but was successfully prevented by the local population. The mining project now directly threatens 50,000 people who make their living from gold mining in Suarez and Buenos Aires.

Read the CETIM’s oral statement in French