The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Atrato River basin has created a “serious and ongoing human rights crisis,” threatening the health and survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture.
In a letter made public on Tuesday, three U.N. Human Rights Council special rapporteurs raised concerns with the Colombian government about insufficient compliance with a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling that recognized the Atrato River as a legal entity with rights to protection and restoration.
