Women's collective rejects increase in Colombian coal exports to Germany

Russia, the United States, Australia, South Africa and Colombia are the countries that export the most coal to Germany. Data from the Episcopal Work of the German Catholic Church for Cooperation and Development (Misereor) highlight that the Latin American country supplies approximately 10.76 billion tons of coal, mostly from the departments of Cesar and La Guajira where El Cerrejón' is located, the largest open-pit mine in the country, which covers an area of 69,000 hectares.

Faced with the actions being carried out by different countries around the world to sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Germany closed that door for the entry of coal into its territory. Faced with this situation, German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz is taking measures and one of them would be to increase the import of Colombian coal.

In a statement, the citizen collective “Unidas Por La Paz”, formed in Berlin by Colombian immigrants, rejected the agreement between Colombia and Germany to increase imports of Colombian coal into the European country.

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The women's collective noted that the agreement was closed on April 6 through a call between Scholz and the president of Colombia, Iván Duque. “We, United for Peace — Germany, committed to the defense of excluded communities in our country, strongly reject this increase in demand for Colombian coal,” the statement said.

In the document shared this Thursday, April 21, “United for Peace” noted that, “it is proven that the largest coal exporters in Colombia have committed numerous human and environmental rights violations, which have mainly affected the communities that live in the areas of exploitation. The worst abuses occur in the regions La Guajira and Cesar, where 90% of the country's coal is extracted.”

The Colombian Network Against Large Transnational Mining presented in 2018 the results of a study on the negative consequences of the activity of the Cerrejón mine in La Guajira, among which it highlighted deforestation, the violation of the human rights of indigenous communities and the increase in poverty of the general population .

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The collective then highlighted that the growing demand for Colombian coal gives new impetus to El Cerrejón, the largest coal mine in Latin America. “The firm Glencore, which owns El Cerrejón, had announced last year the closure of the mine due to low demand for the material, but now plans to increase its production, to meet, among others, the demand from Germany,” the public communication highlights.

“United for Peace” also emphasizes that one day after the call between the two heads of state, El Cerrejón received permission from the Government of Iván Duque to divert the Bruno stream and exploit the ore found in the territory. The permit for the exploitation of coal in Bruno stream was granted by the Ministry of Environment, without the consent of the Wayuu people, nor the experts who warned of the danger of drought.

The Bruno stream is the main tributary of the Ranchería River, the only river in the desert region of La Guajira, on which multiple indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant communities depend for survival. According to experts, the diversion of the stream will cause it to dry out, preventing access to water for thousands of people.

The statement ends with a strong message: “This is another of the authoritarian acts of the current Government, which became known internationally for its serious violations of human rights during the 2021 demonstrations.”

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