Multinational mining companies Drummond (US) and Prodeco/Glencore (Switzerland) have still not adequately addressed their human rights impact in Colombia’s Cesar mining region, where they extracted coal during the internal armed conflict. Alongside indirect impacts, there are multiple allegations that they were complicit in violence by financing armed groups. Despite recognizing these issues, their clients, mainly European energy companies, have not taken responsible action and continue purchasing “blood coal.”
We believe these companies must take responsibility for the human rights violations they are linked to or have contributed to and must implement measures to prevent such violations from ocurring again. Since 2011, PAX has been researching the history of armed conflict in the region, advocating for victims’ rights, and raising awareness among mining and energy companies about their responsibilities according to international standards on responsible business conduct.
PAX is currently supporting the victims’ organization Asamblea Campesina in an OECD complaint against European supply chain actors and the Sintramienergética trade union in a Colombian prosecutor’s case against Drummond executives.
Remedy for the Victims
The problem
Multinational mining companies Drummond, a U.S.-based company, and Prodeco/Glencore, a Swiss-based firm, which began extracting coal in Cesar at the height of the Colombian armed conflict, have yet to thoroughly examine and take responsibility for the adverse human rights impacts of their operations. Although their customers, including European energy companies, have acknowledged these issues, they have failed to take effective action to address or prevent them. Until recently, many were still sourcing “blood coal” from Cesar, and some continue to do so today, in spite of the ongoing transition away from coal.
For whom
PAX is spearheading the Stop Blood Coal! campaign to empower victims of “blood coal” in Cesar to claim their rights to truth, justice, reparation, and security, enabling them to rebuild their lives and actively engage in peacebuilding efforts in the region and across Colombia.
Our stance
PAX believes that companies must take every possible measure to avoid being directly linked to or contributing to armed conflict and must under no circumstances benefit from human rights abuses arising from such conflicts or other factors. In cases like coal mining in Cesar, where these violations have occurred and continue to occur, companies—including those downstream in the supply chain—must take responsibility and act swiftly. They should address and remediate the harm done to affected communities and implement measures to ensure that such violations do not occur again. As an additional lever, PAX also welcomes the coming into force of binding legislation on corporate responsibility and due diligence obligations in supply chains.
What did we achieve?
Through the publication of The Dark Side of Coal: Paramilitary Violence in the Mining Region of Cesar, Colombia in June 2014 and subsequent campaigns, PAX initiated a public discussion in Colombia about corporate responsibility regarding involvement in armed conflict. In Europe, PAX, together with its allies, contributed to the dialogue on corporate responsibility for human rights due diligence in supply chains through its Stop Blood Coal! campaign (2015-2019). On the ground, PAX empowered local civil society organizations, supporting farmer groups and trade unions to more effectively voice the concerns of thousands of victims of “blood coal” to governments and companies. The findings from PAX’s reports are corroborated by other institutions, including the Colombian Center for Historical Memory (CNMH) and the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, which presented its final report in 2022. Thanks to PAX’s efforts, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia has initiated an investigation into companies’ roles in the armed conflict, focusing on the mining region in Cesar. Currently, PAX supports the peasant organization Asamblea Campesina in their complaint against European energy companies and other supply chain actors at the NCP for OECD Guidelines in The Hague, and the trade union Sintramienergética in the Colombian prosecutor’s case against Drummond’s top executives.
What should be done?
PAX has been investigating the history of the conflict and the human rights situation of the civilian population in the Cesar mining region, publishing several reports. Based on this research, PAX, together with allied European NGOs, continues to campaign to raise awareness among mining companies, European energy companies, and, to a lesser extent, also port and transport companies, local governments (for example, the Amsterdam city council), and financial institutions about their responsibilities toward the victims of armed conflict in Cesar, in line with international standards for responsible business conduct. PAX is supporting the victims to strengthen their capacity to advocate for their demands. Together with the victims of Cesar’s “blood coal,” we urge companies in the coal supply chain to take responsibility for the negative human rights consequences. This includes recognizing the victims, acknowledging their own role in these events and in the supply chain, and contributing to remedies for the injustices to which they are linked or contributed to, that continue to impact the victims.

The Dark Side of Coal
Paramilitary Violence in the Mining Region of Cesar, Colombia
Timeline
This timeline gives an overview of of the most important moments since 2010.