Stop Blood Coal

Image: PAX/Ronald de Hommel

With the ‘Stop Blood Coal campaign’ PAX aims to make a difference in the lives of tens of thousands people who have become victims of paramilitary in the mining area of Cesar, Colombia. We support these victims in their search for truth and reconciliation and push mining companies to take their responsibility and contribute to actual remedy for the victims.

The story of Blood Coal

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Violence

From 1996 to 2006, residents of the Cesar mining region of Colombia, from which European power utilities source most of their coal, have suffered greatly from paramilitary violence. At least 3100 people have been murdered, 55,000 farmers have been driven from their land and hundreds of people have disappeared. Even today, the atrocities faced by victims and their surviving relatives have never been acknowledged, let along compensation being awarded.

PAX has conducted research into the history of paramilitary violence and established that there is a coincidence between the arrival of extractive multinationals and rise of paramilitary presence in the region. Furthermore the mining companies have not helped to prevent the violence from occurring, while they have profited from the consequences, among others through the purchase of land that originally belonged to displaced farmers.

The mining companies so far deny carrying responsibility for the negative human rights impact. In a meantime the victims have been waiting over 15 years for truth and compensation. PAX expects that governments and energy companies, in their role as buyers, consider their suppliers – the coal mining companies – responsible for making a contribution to the solution of the situation of the victims.

See also:

PAX programme Mining and conflict in Colombia

PAX programme Supporting Victims in Colombia

PAX en Colombia (Spanish website)

Voices of the victims

With the Stop Blood Coal campaign, PAX is committed to the tens of thousands of victims of paramilitary violence in the Colombian mining region of Cesar. We support these victims in their search for truth and reconciliation and push mining companies to take their responsibility and contribute to actual remedy for the victims. Hear the voices of:

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