Tambogrande Wins Prestigious Human Rights Award
The people of Tambogrande celebrated International Human Rights Day with the news that they had won a national prize from Peru's largest human rights organization.
|
| “Yes to Agriculture, No to Mining.” People in Tambogrande are asserting their right to decide whether a mining project in their town is the best possible route for economic development. By: Daniel Moss/Oxfam |
The people of Tambogrande, Peru, celebrated International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2002 with the news that they have been awarded the Angel Escobar National Prize from Peru’s largest human rights organization, the National Coordinator of Human Rights. The award is being made to the town “for their defense of human rights, especially their right to a clean environment” following the town’s referendum in June 2002, in which citizens overwhelmingly voted against allowing a proposed mine project to be carried out in and around the town of Tambogrande. Tambogrande is in a region of Piura department that relies on agriculture for the livelihood of thousands of people, and they are concerned that a proposed mine would pollute their water resources and have other undesirable effects.
“The Tambogrande municipality has given the country an example of civic participation which is significant since the municipalities have not commonly been a place where local participation has been welcomed… The lesson learned from this referendum is that a country’s development should not take place without taking into account the local population,” the National Coordinator of Human Rights said in a press release. The organization further stated that “This is the first time that such a group of people has been awarded the prize, and it was done this way in recognition of the fact that this human rights defense campaign was initiated by the residents themselves.”
|
| Francisco Ojeda, the newly elected mayor of Tambogrande (pictured here), and the outgoing mayor Alfredo Reginfo accepted the Angel Escobar National Prize from the National Coordinator of Human Rights on behalf of the people of Tambogrande for their courageous campaign to defend their right to decide if a mine should be established in their town. It was the first time that this national human rights prize has been awarded to the residents of a town. By: Ernesto Cabellos/Guarango Cine y Video |
In a statement of congratulations published in newspapers in Peru, Oxfam America, Oxfam Great Britain, and several Oxfam partners and allies recognized the people of Tambogrande for defending their “right to be consulted about decisions that will affect peoples' lives, particularly the right to free and informed consent regarding extractive activities.” The congratulatory statement cited the town’s referendum on mining, saying that it “demonstrated a legitimate and peaceful way to demand the right to be heard, and made the government search for alternative solutions.”
For more information on Tambogrande, the June 2002 referendum on mining and the proposed mining project, read
The Promise of Gold: Tambogrande, Peruart2603.html
Para leer el articulo en espanol, click aquiart4002.html