Human Rights Group Demands Colombia Protect Indigenous Children

The Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) is demanding the Colombian state adopt measures to protect the children and teenagers of the Wayu community after activists and indigenous leaders said that about 4,770 of them died over the eight past years as a result of malnutrition and lack of clean drinking water.

The human rights body, part of the Organization of the American States (OAS), said the Wayu people – “powerful humans” in the Arahuaca language – were suffering high levels of child mortality, putting in danger the survival of the group as a whole.

The community members are in a serious and urgent situation, said the group, which is demanding action in the departments of La Guajira where a long-lasting drought, doubled with the lack of an aqueduct to transport clean water, was never properly addressed by the conservative administration of Juan Manuel Santos.

The measures requested include guaranteeing the availability and access to health services, with an integral and culturally appropriate approach, in order to tackle child malnutrition.

INTERVIEW: Resource Extraction Destroys Guatemala Social Fabric

The Wayu community, which represents almost half of the local population living in La Guajira, lost valuable hectares of land, as well as the access to the Rancheria River, as a result of mining exploitation that expanded in the area as result of it being home to the world’s largest coal reserve, called El Cerrejón.

While unemployment affects almost half of the local population, according to one study, the people employed at the coal mine are exposed to inhumane working conditions. The study mentioned long days of work in high temperatures, causing skin dehydration and auditory issues, and exposure to dust and ashes.