The complaint concerns the forced displacement of more than 59,000 people from farming communities in Cesar, northern Colombia. Families have been killed, threatened, and driven from their land by paramilitary violence, and much of that land is now under active coal mining. Coal from this region has been exported to Europe for years, including to Vattenfall, linking European energy consumption to ongoing human rights impacts.
Filed in April 2023 by the Asamblea Campesina del Cesar por la Restitución de Tierras y el Buen Vivir (Asamblea Campesina), together with PAX and SOMO, the decision follows last year’s Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) acceptance of related cases against the Ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and HES International.
Energy company linked to ‘blood coal’
The complaint argues that Vattenfall (formerly Nuon in the Netherlands) is directly linked to these human rights abuses through historical coal purchases, prior to ending coal use in the Netherlands in 2019 with the closure of the Hemweg power plant in Amsterdam.
According to the notifying parties, Vattenfall conducted human rights due diligence in 2017 and identified adverse human rights impacts linked to its coal supply chain, but did not take effective action to address them—neither before nor after its 2019 coal phase-out.
The complaint states that Vattenfall has not acted in line with the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct, which require companies not only to identify and prevent risks but also to address adverse human rights impacts and contribute to remediation.
NCP accepts complaint for further consideration
The Dutch NCP concludes that the complaint meets the criteria for further consideration. While this does not determine whether Vattenfall has acted in accordance with the Guidelines, the issues raised are considered sufficiently substantiated. The NCP has offered its good offices to facilitate dialogue, and both Vattenfall and the complainants have accepted, creating an opportunity for mediated dialogue with affected communities.
Communities still waiting for justice
PAX, SOMO, and Asamblea Campesina welcome the decision. “For years, European energy companies have been linked to coal associated with the forced displacement of communities in Cesar,” says Joris van de Sandt, Policy Lead for Latin America at PAX. “The NCP’s acceptance of this complaint opens a concrete opportunity for dialogue and reparations that the affected communities have long awaited.”
Joseph Wilde-Ramsing of SOMO adds: “Vattenfall contributed to these harms for years, then disengaged irresponsibly without helping to address the impacts to which they contributed during their many years of buying and profiting from cheap blood coal.”
A representative of the Asamblea Campesina stated: “Our communities have suffered displacement, violence, and loss for decades. Companies that benefited from this coal must now engage with us and take responsibility.”
Other companies under scrutiny
The broader campaign also involves other European energy companies, including RWE and Uniper, which continue to operate coal-fired power plants in the Netherlands. Initial Assessment decisions on complaints against these companies are still pending at the German NCP.
The acceptance of this complaint marks a key step toward accountability in conflict-affected energy supply chains, testing whether meaningful dialogue can bring truth, justice, and reparations for the communities of Cesar.
