Constitutional Rights, Legal Action, and the Road to Remediation
Our work in Huancavelica reflects years of community-centered research, among the results of which is the 2015 Remedial Investigation that revealed dangerous mercury contamination in homes and public spaces. In 2016, Peru’s environmental enforcement agency (OEFA Report of Huancavelica) confirmed—and in some cases, found even worse—pollution levels in public areas and the Río Ichu. Yet, no government action followed.
The EHC responded by combining rigorous environmental science with community outreach and education. Alongside community residents, we liaised with national, regional, and local authorities—including the Ministries of Environment, Health, Housing, and Energy and Mines; congressional commissions; and Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo)—to present our findings and push for urgent action. While the Ombudsman convened multisectoral meetings, government agencies refused to act.
With support from the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC), the EHC and residents of contaminated homes filed a civil case in October 2020 against multiple government bodies, including the Prime Minister’s Office. The case was grounded in Articles 2 and 7 of the Peruvian Constitution, which guarantee the right to life and a healthy environment.
This ruling marks a historic precedent: to our knowledge, it is the first time 1) a Peruvian court has ordered the Prime Minister’s Office to direct the Ministry of the Environment to declare a state of environmental emergency and recognize a locality as a contaminated site and 2) a Peruvian court had ordered that the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Energy and Mines develop a plan for, and prioritize, their remediation under the provisions, and obligations, of the Minamata convention.
An Ongoing Fight for Implementation
Although the ruling is final and binding, enforcement has been slow and incomplete. While an emergency declaration was issued, it omitted core mandates of the court order and included unrelated measures. Critically, it failed to address contamination inside homes—spaces where families eat, sleep, and raise children atop toxic mine waste.
That part of the case is now before Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal, where the EHC continues to advocate—through legal filings, community outreach, and national media outreach—for recognition of residents’ full constitutional rights.
In parallel, we are conducting follow-up assessments, developing demonstration projects to showcase remediation strategies, and preparing reports and publications to inform policymakers, journalists, and international bodies. At every step, the EHC works alongside Huancavelica’s residents to ensure that decisions are transparent, evidence-based, and driven by the needs of those most affected.
Because living in a home made from mine waste, laced with toxic metals, is not a healthy environment—and justice without action is not justice at all.