On 12 February, the Constitutional Court of Colombia (Sentence T-029 /2025), recognised for the first time the right to due process for communities and Trade Unions impacted by the closure of large-scale mining operations. The Court decision recognises the right of stakeholders impacted by large-scale mining to participate and contribute to the formulation of a fair and just mine closure plan aimed at mitigating the environmental, social and economic impacts of the closure.
This legal action was achieved by representatives of over 20,000 people made up of community members and dismissed workers impacted by the closure of the Prodeco Mine a wholly owned subsidiary of mining giant, Glencore; a multinational company registered on the London Stock Exchange.
The Prodeco mine spans four municipalities in the Cesar and Magdalena Departments in Northern Colombia. Despite the massive power imbalance between those impacted by the mine and Prodeco, the communities and Unions engaged in a four year long legal battle to gain transparent and effective dialogue aimed at achieving a realistic plan to mitigate the impacts of mine closure and uphold their rights.
The Court ruled that a roundtable should be established where all stakeholders can engage in transparent dialogue regarding measures to mitigate the impacts of the mine closure.
Previous mine closures have been inadequate, often sidelining local communities in the process. The ruling guarantees that the process is transparent and public, creating new spaces of participation that seek to moderate, at least to some extent the power disparities. The Court highlighted that a single meeting with the community did not constitute compliance with the requirement of community participation.
The Court outlined that stakeholders, in this case the communities from the La Jagua, El Paso, Becerril and Cienaga mining municipalities, the local authorities and the dismissed workers, should be informed and participate in the definition of the measures related to social, environmental and economic compensation and restoration. The Grassroots Partner organisations made this statement about the case, requesting that:
The company Glencore-Prodeco engage in constructive dialogue, avoid evasive manoeuvres, and respect the Court ruling.
That the Colombian State, led by the Environmental Licencing Authority (Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales-ANLA), the Ombudsman’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office, accompany this process, support the Court decision, and strengthen protective measures to guarantee community and union leaders safety as they participate in the process for compliance with this ruling.
That national and international organisations continue to support the process to ensure the Court’s intention in ordering the establishment of a roundtable consultation process, that is that participation is real and effective.
The company is required to consult the local representatives on decisions that affect the communities, hear their concerns and/or reservations related to the mine closure plans, as well as, determining the outstanding obligations of mining companies.
The Court also ordered the reopening of the legal case against the representative of Grupo Empresarial Prodeco S.A.
Ensuring that companies headquartered and registered in the UK comply with due diligence measures and seek not only to mitigate but also to prevent human rights and environmental harms is essential.
This is why ABColombia as a member of the Corporate Justice Coalition, is calling for a mandatory due diligence UK law on Business, human rights, and the environment. That would place a duty on commercial organisations to prevent adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their domestic and international operations, products and services including in their supply and value chains.
128,548 people in the UK want change! They have signed a petition calling on MPs to bring in a new UK law to stop corporate abuses of human rights and environmental destruction. This will be handed in at downing street on 19 June 2025. So be quick and add your signature NOW!