PBI-Colombia accompanies CAJAR on International Verification Mission on socio-environmental conflicts in Santander

Published by Brent Patterson on October 22, 2025 October 22, 2025

On October 13, PBI-Colombia posted:

“PBI Colombia accompanied the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective @cajar.colombia on the International Verification Mission on socio-environmental conflicts in southern Santander, in the municipalities of Vélez, Chipatá, and La Paz.

This Mission, made up of various local and international organizations, met with communities, municipal authorities, councillors, and church representatives to listen to and document concerns about the impacts of mining expansion in the region.

PBI expresses its concern about the serious socio-environmental impacts and risks identified by the Mission, which can be consulted in the official statement published on the CAJAR website: https://tinyurl.com/43tr2xcd

We reiterate the Mission’s call for compliance with the Escazú Agreement, to view southern Santander as a bioregion that must be protected, and for guarantees for the communities defending their territory.”

The CAJAR media release posted on October 10 further explains:

“Since Monday, October 6, 2025, the Inter/national Mission for the verification of socio-environmental conflicts in the South of Santander was carried out, in response to the request of several community processes; a tour of the municipalities of Vélez, Chipatá and La Paz was carried out.

This Mission, made up of international organizations and citizens from Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and Colombia, after several meetings with communities, ecclesiastical authorities and local authorities such as Mayors and Municipal Councils and after having carried out observation tours, managed to verify serious effects and socio-environmental risks linked to the expansion of mining interests in the region and we warn the Colombian State that:

The mining titles and licenses granted for coal mining in Vélez and La Paz Santander pose a serious risk and threat to important ecosystems of water and agri-food reserves in the region. Likewise, the large number of mining requests throughout the South of Santander is observed with concern, which would seriously affect the territories that should be considered as an important Bio-Region in the country…”

The CAJAR statement expresses concern about various mining projects including, for example, the CEI-101 mining title.

CEI-101.

We continue to follow this.