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

A statement by Friends of the Earth calling for a legally binding UN treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses, using the Rio Doce watershed disaster and other corporate crimes as evidence of the failure of voluntary guidelines.

• The collapse of SAMARCO dams in the Rio Doce basin in Mariana, Minas Gerais, resulted in 19 deaths, the displacement of hundreds, and the poisoning of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. Toxic mud traveled over 500 kilometers from the mine dams, affecting 15 municipalities and denying nearly one million people access to fresh water.
• SAMARCO, owned by Vale and BHP Billiton, is accused of avoiding legal responsibility for the Rio Doce disaster despite a 2013 technical report from Brazil’s Public Attorney warning of the imminent risk of a dam breach. The corporations are described as using private staff and lawyers to control the investigation and conduct individual negotiations with affected people.
• Vale is cited for systemic human rights violations in Mozambique's Tete province, where it exploits coal reserves. The company relocated farmers from productive lands to unproductive areas, depriving them of food sovereignty and water, while the region has experienced police brutality, militarization, and negative impacts on air and water quality.
• BHP is linked to previous corporate crimes, including the 2001 Ok Tedi copper mine disaster in Papua New Guinea, which destroyed ecosystems and livelihoods through the release of polluting tailings into the Ok Tedi and Fly river systems. BHP also operates the Cerrejon coal mine in La Guajira, Colombia.
• The authors argue that voluntary guidelines for businesses are inadequate and call for the UN to establish a legally binding treaty and international system to hold transnational corporations accountable and provide victims of corporate crimes with 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} }