Bucaramanga, Colombia, May 20, 2025 — On March 6, 2025 the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, a healthy environment, water and sanitation, and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights sent formal letters to the governments of Colombia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as to the companies Aris Mining and MDC Industry Holding Company LLC to denounce the threats and stigmatization faced by the Committee for the Defence of Water and the Santurbán Páramo for defending this ecosystem threatened by mining in Colombia. To date, only the Colombian government’s reply has been made public.
While harassment is not new, content has recently been disseminated on social media labeling the Committee’s spokespersons as “persona non grata”, endangering their lives by claiming false connections to illegal armed groups. Committee members have warned that “every day that passes without a response from the national government and the companies legitimizes those who seek to silence us.”
For 16 years, the committee has worked to protect the Santurban páramo – a high altitude wetland ecosystem which provides fresh water to more than two million people. Recently, they achieved recognition of part of the páramo as a Temporary Reserve Zone, which means that large-scale mining activities will be suspended for two years.
Viviana Herrera, Latin America Program Coordinator at MiningWatch Canada, said, “it speaks volumes that Canada has not yet responded to the UN experts. Canada must prioritize the environmental defenders of the Santurbán Committee and their struggle to protect water.”
Sebastián Abad Jara, a lawyer with the Inter-American Association for the Defense of the Environment (AIDA), said that “through these letters, the offices of the UN recognized the committee as a coalition of rights defenders; they informed governments and companies of the clear, imminent, and specific risk to its members; and in doing so they dismantled the false narratives linking their activities to those of illegal groups.”
The UN agencies emphasize that Aris Mining, its subsidiary Minesa, and all companies in its supply chain associated with the Soto Norte project — such as Calimineros — have an obligation to respect and protect human rights, especially those of environmental and water defenders.
“Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries for those defending water and life against extractive projects, which is why immediate action by states and companies is urgently needed to stop the stigmatization and guarantee the safety of members of the committee,” said Jen Moore, associate researcher at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).
The Committee for the Defence of Water and the Santurbán Páramo, AIDA, MiningWatch Canada, IPS, Common Frontiers Canada, and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) reiterate the call by United Nations experts to the governments of Colombia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as to Aris Mining company and MDC Holding, to safeguard the lives and integrity of the committee members.
In accordance with their obligations under national law, the Escazú Agreement, inter-American law and jurisprudence, and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we also urgently call on states and companies to respond to the substance of the letters and adopt measures — with verifiable deadlines and measurable progress — to prevent companies associated with the Soto Norte project from committing human rights violations.
Only the protection and strengthening of historic leadership such as that of the Santurbán Committee in Colombia will bring us closer to environmental and climate justice. The concerns raised by the offices of the UN are a reminder that protecting those who lead the struggle for water in Latin America is an imperative of state and corporate due diligence.
###
This press release is available in Spanish here.
Press Contacts:
Committee for the Defense of Water and the Santurbán Páramo, [email protected].
Victor Quintanilla (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +5215570522107
Viviana Herrera, Mining Watch Canada, [email protected], +14389931264
Jennifer Moore, IPS, [email protected], +12027049011
Alexandra Colón-Amil, CIEL, [email protected], +12024550253