While recognising advances in China\u2019s policies and guidelines for overseas activities, the organisations called for greater commitments to environmental and social standards in projects developed in Latin America.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeking from the UN is to get China to address the negative impacts of its investments and understand that this is a legitimate concern of civil society organisations in the region,\u201d said Marco Gandarillas, a member of Latinoam\u00e9rica Sustentable (LAS), one of the organisations behind the publication.<\/p>\n China\u2019s human rights obligations for its overseas investments have been the subject of several reviews by UN bodies since 2016. These include the Universal Periodic Review<\/a> \u2013 the Human Rights Council process under which China acknowledged Latin American NGO claims<\/a> in 2019 \u2013 and that of the CESCR, charged with assessing whether states are guaranteeing economic, social and cultural rights.<\/p>\n Civil society organisations were invited by CESCR to submit their observations on Chinese companies in Latin America. These were then incorporated into a final report<\/a> with recommendations to China, released on 3 March, to which the Chinese government has issued an initial response.<\/p>\n The NGO report focuses primarily on mining and oil projects, hydroelectric dams and railways developed by 11 Chinese companies and\/or backed by Chinese banks in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. The organisations behind the analysis claim that all of the projects are located within fragile ecosystems and have caused significant environmental damage.<\/p>\n The Mirador copper mine<\/a>, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, is among the projects included. Operated by Ecuacorriente, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned enterprises Tongling and the China Railway Construction Corporation, it is said to have brought negative impacts on at least 16 different ecosystems. Elsewhere, the analysis highlights that four projects, located in Mexico, Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, have taken place or are planned to proceed within protected areas.<\/p>\n \u201cCompanies choose projects in conflict zones and then the problems drag on throughout the project cycle, as with the Rucalhue dam in Chile,\u201d said Gandarillas. The Rucalhue dam<\/a> is a proposed 90-megawatt hydropower plant on the B\u00edo B\u00edo River in central Chile, a project taken over<\/a> by the China International Water & Electric Corporation in 2018. It would be the fourth dam to be installed on the river, following projects such as the Pangue and Ralco dams, both built by Spanish-Chilean company Endesa, that have long proven controversial in the water-stressed country.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/div>\n \u201cThe communities have said many times that they don\u2019t want more dams in this region,\u201d said Gandarillas.<\/p>\n Issues with air and water pollution also reported in most of the projects analysed. Such is reportedly the case at Chinese mining giant Zijin\u2019s Buritic\u00e1 smelting plant<\/a> in Colombia, and the Mirador mine in Ecuador.<\/p>\n The report claims that in at least 10 of the cases analysed, the projects do not have an adequate environmental licence based on a thorough environmental impact study, and have generated conflict with the communities living in the area. The organisations highlight the Las Bambas copper mine<\/a> in Peru, operated by Chinese firm MMG and the largest foreign investment in the country to date, as one such example.<\/p>\n Communities have said many times that they don\u2019t want more dams<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Jaime Borda is executive secretary of the Muqui Network, which represents more than 30 social and environmental organisations in Peru. He claimed that there have been forced relocations of communities near the Las Bambas mine, and that \u201cthe company modified the environmental impact study and did not carry out prior consultation before starting the project.\u201d<\/p>\n The report argues that some of the projects analysed have led to abuses of Indigenous peoples\u2019 rights. Companies are said to have carried out their projects in the territories of communities that have long rejected extractive activities because of their environmental and social impacts. The impact is often high and long-term companies are reported to have not complied with due diligence processes.<\/p>\n The report highlights the case of the San Carlos-Panantza copper mine in Ecuador, operated by ExplorCobres, a subsidiary of the CRCC-Tongling consortium that also operates the Mirador project. This project in southern Ecuador would impact 70% of the ancestral territory of the Indigenous Shuar people. After years of complaints, operations at the mine were halted in 2020. In 2022, the country\u2019s Constitutional Court ruled<\/a> that the peoples\u2019 right to free, prior and informed consent had been violated and withdrew the project\u2019s environmental licence.<\/p>\n While these projects have been carried out by Chinese investors, host countries, governments and local partners have also helped to enable them by greenlighting projects and setting standards, representatives from organisations behind the report told Di\u00e1logo Chino.<\/p>\n In the CESCR\u2019s report on the review process, which covered China\u2019s overall performance on a range of rights issues, it specifically called on the Chinese state to ensure its companies and banks operating abroad \u2013 whether in Latin America or elsewhere \u2013 are \u201cheld accountable for economic, social and cultural rights violations\u201d, with special attention given to the effects on Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n The CESCR also called on the Chinese government to ensure that victims of abuses have access to effective complaint mechanisms and adequate redress. In addition, it urged the government to take steps to \u201censure the legal liability of business entities and their subsidiaries\u201d for rights violations in their activities abroad.<\/p>\n On the same day as the CESCR released its report, the Chinese government issued a response<\/a> in which it said it would study its observations through a working group. \u201cThe Chinese government attaches great importance to fulfilling its obligations under international human rights instruments,\u201d the document reads. \u201cChina will continue to engage in constructive dialogue and cooperation with all parties.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past few years, China has published guidelines<\/a> for the work of its companies and financiers operating abroad. This represents a shift from a previous approach based on compliance with domestic regulatory frameworks to a commitment to international best practices and standards, the Latin American NGOs acknowledge.<\/p>\n For example, the \u201cGreen Development Guidelines for Foreign Investment and Cooperation<\/a>\u201d, jointly published by the Chinese ministries of environment and of commerce, encourage Chinese investors to go beyond \u201chost country rules\u201d and ask that, if local regulations are lacking, Chinese actors such as companies or banks adopt Chinese standards or international best practices. Elsewhere, a grievance mechanism for Chinese overseas mining projects<\/a> is currently under development by the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters.<\/p>\n Despite progress on these plans, the main challenge remains their implementation by financial institutions and companies, as well as supervision by the government, according to the Latin American organisations behind the recent report. To this end, they call for more dialogue with Chinese actors.<\/p>\n \u201cChinese embassies could be established as a formal channel of contact and communication to which communities and civil society organisations can turn to provide early warning of environmental and social problems,\u201d said Gandarillas.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are sectors in China that are moving in the right direction, and the UN is a space where China has to be accountable and make commitments to promote gradual and viable changes that could be implemented in Latin America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NGOs highlight 14 Chinese projects in region with reported violations of environmental and social standards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1072,"featured_media":50364279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[758],"tags":[510,516,50003602,566],"hashtags":[],"country":[50000020,50002592,50000021,50000024,20000110,50000025,50002594,50002597,50002601,50002604],"class_list":["post-50364274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-china-in-the-world","tag-civil-society","tag-human-rights","tag-mining","country-argentina","country-bolivia","country-brazil","country-chile","country-china","country-colombia","country-ecuador","country-mexico","country-peru","country-venezuela"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/UN-Human-Rights.jpg\")
<\/a>Chinese projects in focus<\/h2>\n
![\"Ralco](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Ralco-Dam-in-Chile_Cesar-Santana_Alamy_2BKCWBE-scaled.jpg\")
The recommendations<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Las-Bambas_Protest-Alamy_2HG30MM-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>