None of the 42 projects to repair the damage caused by the collapse of a Brazilian dam in 2015 is underway, according to a specialized UN report published shortly before mining giant BHP hears if it will be sued in UK courts after the disaster.
Baskut Tuncak, UN special rapporteur, an independent expert on how human rights are affected by dangerous substances, suspected miners had been unable to provide effective reparations since Brazil’s worst environmental crisis decimated the livelihoods of more than 3 million people.
“Today, none of the 42 projects are on the right track,” He said Wednesday in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.
More than 200,000 Brazilians and teams filed a five billion pound lawsuit against BHP in Britain in July over the dam failure.
The collapse of the Fundao dam, which stored mining waste and is owned by the Samarco joint venture between BHP and Brazilian iron ore giant Vale, killed 19 other people and dumped about 40 million cubic meters of mining waste in communities, the Doce River. and the Atlantic. Ocean 650 km away.
Vale and Anglo-Australian BHP, the world’s largest market value miner, did not respond to requests for comment.
BHP said the Renova Foundation, a repair program established in 2016 through its Brazilian division, Samarco and Vale, had spent about 1. 3 billion pounds ($1. 7 billion) on projects such as monetary assistance to Krenak’s indigenous families, rebuilding villages and building a new water source. Supply, Systems.
But Tuncak claimed that Renova’s “true goal” gave the impression of “limiting BHP and Vale’s liability” and called for reform of its governance structure.
Renova said it was running to compensate those affected by projects such as resettlement programs, water quality monitoring and monetary assistance.
More than 200,000 other Brazilian people and teams filed a five billion pound lawsuit against BHP in Britain in July over the dam failure, claiming that the payment had been slow and insufficient.
BHP said it would be unnecessary and unnecessary to hear the case in England, claiming that it was doubling with Brazilian procedures and that those affected were already receiving redress.
A trial is expected this month as to whether the registration group claim can pass.
($1 – 0. 7696 pounds)
(By Kirstin Ridley; Edited through David Gregorio)