Advocacy Peru
The Justice & Peace advocacy center is active on issues of human rights, democracy, natural resources, impunity, etc. Our many advocacy themes complement each other with the aim of working for more peace and justice. Discover here our advocacy on human rights and the environment in Peru
Why Peru advocacy?
Justice and Peace aims to inform the decision makers·shes policies on the injustices experienced by the Peruvian populations exposed to the negative effects of mining and try to propose a fair and sustainable global development model. This work is carried out in permanent collaboration with our Peruvian partners. Peru is a country known as extractivist, of which the economy is highly dependent on mineral extraction and trade such as copper, gold, silver or even zinc. These minerals are mainly consumed in northern countries and the profits made by the Peruvian state do not sufficiently benefit the populations of mining regions. Worse, populations who live near mines find themselves exposed to dramatic consequences.: pollution irreversible water and soil (which harm agriculture and livestock), heavy metal contamination and diseases, social conflicts and injustices. Indeed, little informed and little consulted on mining projects, populations try to make their voice heard and often receive a repressive response of the state through the police forces and the army.
Respect for human rights is non-negotiable. For this, we carry out analysis work, political advocacy and citizen actions. This work is carried out through the Europe-Peru Platform, which we coordinate, with international partners such as the Red EU-LAT or with the Latin America volunteer group.
Our analytical work on the subject
For a first approach to the content of the advocacy carried out by Justice & Peace with decision-makers, consult analyzes and press appearances following!
Our actions to respect human rights in Peru
Justice & Peace led other concrete actions to inform and raise awareness among political decision-makers, citizens and the media on our issues relating to Peru.
Free trade agreement
Since 2013, there has been a free trade agreement between Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and the European Union. This treaty illustrationclearly be the priority of business interests on human, labor and environmental rights. With our partners in Peru, we denounced the non-respect of these rights by Peru, with regard to the provisions of the trade agreement in its chapter on sustainable development, to the European Commission in a formal complaint filed in 2017. Since then, we have tried to provide the Belgian and European authorities with our monitoring regular and our analyzes concerning the impacts of this trade agreement in the Andean countries.
“Alternatives in Latin America”
Volunteers from the Latin America group of the Justice & Peace Commission carried out a project between 2016 and 2018 to highlight alternatives to the neoliberal development model and extractivist in Latin America. This project consisted of the meeting and video interview ofactors Latin American people who explain their vision and actions to create another template development: A model more just, more equitable And more respectful of human rights and the environment.
Our documentary: Peru, the mine at all costs
Accompanied by our partners from the Peruvian NGO CooperAcción, In 2016, we met key players in the field, direct witnesses harmful consequences of mega mining projects. This field visit was also an opportunity to produce an awareness documentary on social conflicts around the Las Bambas and Espinar mining projects.
Political meetings
In December 2016, political meetings one monitoring of the free trade agreement between Peru, Colombia and the European Unionrepresented an opportunity to invite our Peruvian partner Ana Romero.For a week, Ana metEuropean decision makers and shared with them the point of view of the Peruvian civil society concerning the impacts of this treaty on the ground. OUR partner also gave a public lecture on this same subject has the House of Latin America. This monitoring is still relevant in 2022.
Visit of partners to Peru
In 2023, we left to meet our Peruvian partners for a visit intended for political advocacy, the adaptation of our educational tool “L’or ou la mine” and the collection of audiovisual material to raise awareness among the Belgian population. These 2 weeks allowed us to be as close as possible to the reality experienced every day by the populations of the regions visited. They directly experience the negative impacts of these projects which completely transform their way of life. Water is often at the center of the issues, essential to populations but usurped by mining. Lack of water or its contamination with heavy metals and chemicals (ore processing) affect crops, livestock and the health of residents. The presence of the mine implies inevitable and lasting impacts for the surrounding populations, which are however rarely recognized. Find out what kept us busy on site, and the rest of the operations this way.
