Human Rights for Peoples, Binding Rules for Corporations: the lessons for the UN one month after the Vale and BHP environmental crime on Rio Doce watershed

The statement criticizes the impunity of transnational corporations, specifically Vale, BHP, and SAMARCO, following a catastrophic dam collapse on the Rio Doce watershed in Brazil. It highlights the failure of voluntary corporate social responsibility measures and calls on the UN to move beyond voluntary guidelines toward a legally binding treaty for corporate accountability.

• The collapse of SAMARCO dams in the Rio Doce basin in Mariana, Minas Gerais, resulted in one of Brazil's largest environmental catastrophes, killing 19 people, displacing hundreds, and poisoning drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people.
• The Rio Doce disaster caused toxic mud to travel over 500 kilometers, affecting 15 municipalities and denying nearly one million people access to fresh water, while devastating biodiversity and the livelihoods of fisher folk in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
• Vale is accused of systemic human rights violations in Mozambique's Tete province, where its coal mining operations relocated farmers to unproductive lands, deprived them of food sovereignty and water, and contributed to negative air and water quality.
• BHP is linked to previous environmental disasters, including the 2001 Ok Tedi copper mine disaster in Papua New Guinea, and is criticized for an unsustainable business model that contributes to climate change through coal mining, such as at the Cerrejon pit in Colombia.
• The authors argue that voluntary guidelines for businesses are inadequate and that the UN must establish a legally binding treaty and international system to ensure corporations are held accountable and victims have access to justice.

APA

Ortiz, L., Ribeiro, D., & Cossart-Gilber, S. (2015). Human Rights for Peoples, Binding Rules for Corporations: the lessons for the UN one month after the Vale and BHP environmental crime on Rio Doce watershed. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/human-rights-for-peoples-binding-rules-for-corporations-the-lessons-for-the-un-one-month-after-the-vale-and-bhp-environmental-crime-on-rio-doce-watershed/

Chicago

Ortiz, Lucia, Daniel Ribeiro, and Samuel Cossart-Gilber. Human Rights for Peoples, Binding Rules for Corporations: the lessons for the UN one month after the Vale and BHP environmental crime on Rio Doce watershed. Friends of the Earth International, 2015. https://www.foei.org/human-rights-for-peoples-binding-rules-for-corporations-the-lessons-for-the-un-one-month-after-the-vale-and-bhp-environmental-crime-on-rio-doce-watershed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Ortiz |first1=Lucia |last2=Ribeiro |first2=Daniel |last3=Cossart-Gilber |first3=Samuel |title=Human Rights for Peoples, Binding Rules for Corporations: the lessons for the UN one month after the Vale and BHP environmental crime on Rio Doce watershed |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=10 December 2015 |url=https://www.foei.org/human-rights-for-peoples-binding-rules-for-corporations-the-lessons-for-the-un-one-month-after-the-vale-and-bhp-environmental-crime-on-rio-doce-watershed/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ortiz2015human, author = {Ortiz, Lucia and Ribeiro, Daniel and Cossart-Gilber, Samuel}, title = {{Human Rights for Peoples, Binding Rules for Corporations: the lessons for the UN one month after the Vale and BHP environmental crime on Rio Doce watershed}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/human-rights-for-peoples-binding-rules-for-corporations-the-lessons-for-the-un-one-month-after-the-vale-and-bhp-environmental-crime-on-rio-doce-watershed/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }