Mining and Human Rights Violations in Argentina

A statement by Friends of the Earth International detailing human rights violations and state repression of anti-mining protests in Argentina, highlighting the conflict between large-scale extractive projects and the rights to water and a healthy environment.

• Since the 2004 National Mining Plan, Argentina has seen an unprecedented increase in large-scale mining, with over 600 companies operating in the Andes mountains, facilitated by regulatory and tax reforms introduced since the 1990s.
• Community resistance to the extractive-export model has led to widespread mobilization in more than half of Argentina, including the use of road blocks to stop the export of goods.
• The Argentine government and provincial authorities have suppressed protests through police violence, arrests, and a legal framework that criminalizes activism, such as the Terrorism Act adopted on 22 December 2011.
• Open pit mining projects are identified as violations of the fundamental right to water for Andean communities in semi-desert areas and a threat to the constitutional right to a healthy environment under National art. 41.
• Specific instances of state repression in 2012 include the destruction of a camp in Belén on February 8, violent interventions in Tinogasta on February 10 and May 12, and the illegal eviction of a peaceful assembly in Cerro Negro Catamarca on July 20.

APA

Salvatico, N., & Martinez, D. (2012). Mining and Human Rights Violations in Argentina. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/mining-and-human-rights-violations-in-argentina/

Chicago

Salvatico, Natalia, and Diego Martinez. Mining and Human Rights Violations in Argentina. Friends of the Earth International, 2012. https://www.foei.org/mining-and-human-rights-violations-in-argentina/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Salvatico |first1=Natalia |last2=Martinez |first2=Diego |title=Mining and Human Rights Violations in Argentina |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=11 September 2012 |url=https://www.foei.org/mining-and-human-rights-violations-in-argentina/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{salvatico2012mining, author = {Salvatico, Natalia and Martinez, Diego}, title = {{Mining and Human Rights Violations in Argentina}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/mining-and-human-rights-violations-in-argentina/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }