(Admissibility Decision), Report No. 62/14
On Feb. 28, 2003, the Commission received a petition from the National Coordinator of Peruvian Communities Affected by Mining on behalf of 54 inhabitants of Quishque-Tapayrihua, in the district of Tapairihua, Apurima, claiming that the State of Peru granted Southern Peru Copper Corporation a mining concession on lands traditionally inhabited by the Quishque community. The petition claims that since 1996, through its "Los Chancas" mining project, the Southern Peru Copper Corporation, without first consulting the local communities, has conducted prospecting and mining activities that have harmed the inhabitants' access to drinking water and other natural resources, and have destroyed crops, schools, and archaeological sites. The petition alleges that the activities caused the pollution of the Negropuguio River basin and the Quishque spring, on which the Quishque-Tapayrihua community depended. The Commission concludes that the petition is admissible regarding the claims under articles 5 (right to physical, mental and moral integrity), 8 (right to a fair trial), 12 (freedom of conscience and religion), 13 (freedom of thought and expression), 19 (rights of the child), 21 (right to property), 22 (freedom of movement), 23 (right to participate in government), 24 (equal protection), 25 (judicial protection, and 26 (progressive development of economic, social and cultural rights) of the American Convention, and as regards Article 13 (right to education) of the Additional (San Salvador) Protocol to the American Convention.