2016 Investigation by Human Rights Ombudsperson [Cerro Blanco]

In December 2016, Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsperson released a decision relating to an investigation of the alleged violation of the human right to a healthy environment by Entre Mares, S.A., as a result of the operation of and waste produced by its Cerro Blanco mine. As part of its investigation, the Human Rights Prosecutor solicited reports from the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources and the Municipality of Asunción Mita (Jutiapa), interviewed residents of the village of Cerro Blanco and workers at the mine, visited the Cerro Blanco mine with engineers employed by the company, reviewed the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a responding report by Dr. Dina López, solicited information from Entre Mares, and considered the impact of Cerro Blanco’s operations on shared watercourses with El Salvador and the possibility for conflict between the two countries, among other things. The Ombudsperson also considered obligations under Guatemala’s constitution, as well as relevant national legislation and international and regional instruments.

The Ombudsperson determined that the right to a healthy environment is internationally and nationally recognized as a fundamental human right. He further found that the mining licences relied upon by the company are based on an EIA that does not take into account, among other things, the risk of discharging geothermic waters into surface water, the presence of dangerous substances (such as, arsenic) in the geothermal systems in the mine site, and the potential impact on plant and wildlife of discharging higher temperature waters, among other concerns. With respect to the mine’s workers, the Ombudsperson found that, since the beginnng of the project, workers at the mine have been vulnerable to workplace accidents and suboptimal conditions, and have received unfair compensation.

Accordingly, the Ombudsperson recommended that, among others things: (1) the Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources be alert to and monitor new situations that have arisen during the development of the project that were not foreseen in the original EIA, ask Entre Mares to expand its EIA to take into account Dr. López’s conclusions, and take into account the number of projects in the area when assessing future licence applications (2) the Minister of Energy and Mines monitor new situations that have arisen during the development of the Cerro Blanco project (3) the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Congress developed the necessary processes to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses and (4) that Entre Mares comply with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in particular with respect to human rights due diligence requirements. At the time of writing (September 2021), no further developments have been reported on this investigation or vis-à-vis compliance with the recommendations. The mine was suspended by Goldcorp Inc. in 2013, but has since been sold to Bluestone Resources Inc., which is in the process of finalizing its feasibility studies.