Cerrejón reafirms the willingness for open and constructive dialogue

Cerrejón has noted with concern the statements made by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs calling for the suspension of Cerrejón’s operations in the area of the Provincial community. The company also received a letter from the Special Rapporteurs on September 9 and has every intention of responding within the 7 November deadline set by them for Cerrejón to provide additional facts for consideration.

Cerrejón is committed to developing an operation that respects the environment and the rights of workers and the communities neighbouring the operation. There are ongoing efforts to improve due diligence processes aimed at identifying, preventing and mitigating the impacts created by the operation, and to compensate for them when necessary. This commitment is formalised in the company´s Human Rights Policy, first published in 2005 and reformulated in 2011 to align with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), as well as in the Social Management Policy.

Cerrejón is respectful of judicial rulings and complies with them. This includes the T-614 ruling, which has required us to implement new measures to improve the quality of water, the air, and to decrease noise levels, odours and vibrations to avoid affecting the health and tranquillity of the Provincial community, which we are committed to doing.

Despite the limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current suspension of operations due to the strike called by the Sintracarbón union we are committed to complying with the ruling and to date we have made progress in complying with the ruling, including strengthening measures to reduce dust.

These measures complement and strengthen Cerrejón’s environmental management system, certified under ISO 14001 standards, which has measures to reduce particulate matter such as irrigation of roads with low-quality water not suitable for human consumption or agricultural use, the use of barriers and a network of spray cannons over pits and landfills, and the application of a real-time air monitoring network that measures PM10 and PM2.5 with monitoring in 16 stations (11 at the mine, two on the railway line and three in Puerto Bolívar). As a reference, the city of Bogotá has a total of 15 monitoring stations.

Cerrejón maintains a fluid, constructive and respectful dialogue with Provincial community, who have publicly expressed their desire to maintain direct dialogue with the company, on compliance with the rulings, as well as fulfilment of previous agreements reached with the community, and on other projects that improve the living conditions for those families. In addition to this, we continue to engage with the relevant government authorities and keep them informed of our progress.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cerrejón has worked tirelessly to support Provincial and other communities with provision of over 20 M of litres of water, over 50,000 food baskets, over 400 medical supplies, including 3 mechanical ventilators, and has provided the first laboratory for carrying out molecular PCR tests for COVID-19 in the region.

In addition to maintaining respectful relations with the community, the government and other interested parties including NGOs and international institutions, Cerrejón once again emphasises our willingness to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Rapporteurs. We will be sending detailed information that responds to the concerns within the timeframe established, and we invite them to consult the community and Colombian Government directly as well, as to learn about the operation in detail.