Thousands of indigenous individuals from Jujuy, a northwestern Argentine province, arrived in Buenos Aires recently. Their long cross-country journey culminated in a large protest against a provincial constitutional reform that expands lithium mining on the lands they call home.
The protest was staged due to concerns that the increased extraction of lithium may lead to drought, soil contamination, and significant environmental damage. The community is also aggrieved by their exclusion from the brief three-week debate which led to the passing of the constitutional reform. They believe the rapid approval process left minimal room for consultation or participation.
The case has drawn attention from Argentina’s Justice Minister, MartÃn Soria, who requested that the court declare the reform unconstitutional in June, on the basis of indigenous rights concerns. There is now a call to the Argentine Supreme Court to strike down the reform.
The reform seems to contravene the rights granted to indigenous peoples under international legislation. Argentina is a signatory of the international Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention which recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to ownership and possession of their traditional lands and states that these rights should be protected. The Convention also safeguards their rights to the natural resources affiliated with their lands, and includes their right to participate in the use, management, and conservation of these resources.
It’s worth noting that the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) stated in 2022 that it is essential to agree on mining principles that would safeguard the environment and support a transition to green energy. This recent uproar in Argentina seems to highlight the need for such regulation more than ever.
You can read the full protest coverage and related news at Jurist.org