"MINING REACTIVATION MUST NOT SACRIFICE THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING EXTRACTIVES", 6th June 2020

As the pressure for reactivation grows in Peru and throughout the world, the dangers for human rights and equity-focused institutional development become clearer.

In Peru, 50 large mines were authorised on 3 June to re-start operations, having presented their plans for health and safety. NGOs concerned with extractives have been rightly concerned as reactivation measures include the removal of elements in the legislation that seek to protect citizen participation and the environment.

We have given space over the last month to the important analyses from the NGOs DAR (Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales) and Red Muqui. A recent decree (published on 2 June) reinstated certain measures such as the processing of environmental evaluations, but there has been no action to reverse the institutional impact of removing or delaying, for example, fines and taxes which are the crucial funding for regulatory environmental agencies like OEFA. Measures seeking to protect civil servants from dangerous fieldwork have not been replaced by any alternative oversight...