IACHR calls on Guatemala to title land and consult Indigenous people’s on mining plan

San José, Dec 15 (EFE).- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) condemned Guatemala on Friday for violating the rights of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente, Lot nine. The Court ordered the government to title and demarcate their lands and to conduct an Indigenous consultation on an open-pit mine.

The President of the IACHR, Ricardo Pérez, read the operative part of the ruling, giving Guatemala six months to “begin to take the necessary measures to grant the Qʼeqchiʼ Indigenous community of Agua Caliente, Lot nine, a collective community title to their lands and to adopt measures to adequately demarcate and delimit the property.”

The Court also ordered Guatemala to carry out an “adequate consultation process” with the community regarding an open-pit nickel mine located in the village’s area of influence. The mine received its operating license in 2006.

The case concerns the international responsibility of the state of Guatemala to the detriment of the Maya Q’eqchi community of Agua Caliente for the lack of national legislation to guarantee their right to collective property, after forty years of requests.

The Court found Guatemala responsible for violations of the Indigenous peoples’ rights to recognition of legal personality, personal integrity, judicial guarantees, property, access to information, political rights, and judicial protection.

The mining project

The Maya Q’eqchi’ Agua Caliente, Lot nine, Indigenous Community, located in the municipality of El Estor, Izabal Department, which has approximately 400 people and covers more than 1,353 hectares.

They have their own traditional authorities and community structure, and have strong spiritual ties to their land, considering it a sacred space, explained the Court in the sentence.

In 2006, the Guatemalan authorities granted the mining license, in 2018 an protection action challenged the license, and in June 2020 the Constitutional Court ordered compliance with the prior consultation and the suspension of mining exploitation.

In 2021, a consultation process with Indigenous communities was carried out with the participation of the Council of Maya Q’eqchi’ Indigenous Communities. Despite opposition, an agreement was signed for the continuation of the mining project.

The IACHR found that the consultation process “was not carried out adequately, and did not respect the customs and forms of organization of the communities.”

The ruling also states that “the lack of recognition of collective property and the mining activity have affected the life of the communities and have been linked to various acts of violence and harassment.” EFE

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