Ruling T-622 of 2016 Constitutional Court

Ethnic communities sued several ministries and municipalities to stop the intensive and large-scale use of various illegal mining and logging methods (such as the employment of heavy machinery and highly toxic substances like mercury) in the Atrato River, located in the department of Chocó. They claimed that such practices have harmful and irreversible consequences on the environment, thus affecting the fundamental rights of ethnic communities and the natural balance of the territories they inhabit.

Background
Mechanized mining - which has been carried out on a large scale illegally since the late 1990s by different actors mainly affects the upper and middle basin of the Atrato river as well as its tributaries, through the use of heavy machinery such as suction dredges hydraulic lifts and backhoes, which destroy the riverbed and carry out indiscriminate dumping of mercury and cyanide. For several years the affected communities had alerted the state about the urgency to protect the river to no avail.

The claimants, represented by various NGO’s ask the court to protect the fundamental rights to life, health, water, healthy environment, and territory of ethnic communities. The ministries claimed the Court lacked competence to solve.

Relevant Law and Principles
Colombia’s 1991 Constitution Healthy Environment Rights of Nature

Status
The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the claimants and declared a serious violation of fundamental rights of life, health, water, healthy environment, and territory of ethnic communities that are dependent on the Atrato river for their subsistence. The Court found that the State was responsible by its omissive conduct of not providing and adequate response to solve the crisis.

It also recognized the Atrato river as a subject of rights to protection, maintenance and restoration and gave the State and the community it’s guardianship and legal representation.

Takeaways
The case is widely known for being the first judgement in the country that has declared the environment, in this case a river, as an entity subject (not object) to rights of protection, conservation, maintenance and restoration.

Links
https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2016/t-622-16.htm