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EDF IN MEXICO
Eduardo VillarrealResearch and Advocacy [email protected]
Energy giant Électricité de France (EDF) isplanning to build a wind farm on the lands of theindigenous Mexican community of UniónHidalgo, located in the state of Oaxaca. So far,the community’s right to give its consent to thisproject has not been respected, leading tosignificant polarisation and escalating violenceagainst human rights defenders. On 13 October2020, EDF was summoned to appear before theParis civil court. The company is asked torespect the rights of the Unión Hidalgocommunity and to suspend the wind farmproject until it complies with its duty of vigilanceas established under the law on the duty ofvigilance adopted in 2017.
The lawsuit against EDF has been filed byrepresentatives of Unión Hidalgo, the Mexicanhuman rights organisation ProDESC and theEuropean Centre for Constitutional and HumanRights (ECCHR), supported by a number ofFrench and European NGOs.
➜ Civil lawsuit filed
prodesc.org.mx/union-hidalgo/Civil society space in renewable energy projects: A
case study of the Unión Hidalgo community in Mexico,ECCHR, Policy paper, 2019
THE ISSUE
13 OCTOBER 2020
ACTORS
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Swann BommierAdvocacy Officer for Corporate Regulation
3 OCTOBER 2019
Further reading
➜ Formal notice served
“Our ancestral land belongs to us, and as a communitywe have the right to decide how it is used. EDF hasinterfered in our community’s decision-making. Thisintrusion by EDF has even led to violent divisions andconflicts within the community. People who havecriticised the project – human rights and land rightsactivists – have been threatened, attacked, andcriminalised. We call on EDF to suspend the project untilfree and prior consultation has taken place and we have– or have not – given our consent to the project,” saysMs Guadalupe Ramírez, representative of the UniónHidalgo community.
Large-scale infrastructure projects in indigenousterritories must respect human rights, particularly theright to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).Indigenous communities are often discriminatedagainst and denied their rights. Under the Mexicanconstitution and international law, they areguaranteed the right to be consulted when a project isplanned on their lands. Therefore, those in charge ofthe project – the State and the companies involved –must ensure that consultation processes are fair andfree from undue pressure or manipulation. This alsomeans ensuring that those who participate in theseconsultations, and rights defenders in particular, areprotected against intimidation, harassment orviolence.
“The French law on the duty of diligence requirescompanies to identify the risks of human rightsviolations arising from their business activities. If suchrisks are identified, they must take measures tomitigate these risks and prevent serious human rightsabuses. EDF continues to plan its Gunaa Sicarú projecteven though it has resulted in serious human rightsabuses in Unión Hidalgo. EDF must now comply withits duty of vigilance. If it is unable to mitigate theserisks, the Gunaa Sicarú project should be cancelled,”says Cannelle Lavite, a litigation lawyer at ECCHR.
Guillermo Torres, a senior lawyer at ProDESC, adds,“It is important that the company stops negotiatingland usufruct agreements and electricity generationpermits for the purposes of its project without the FPICof the community. By interfering with the freeconsultation process and offering individual benefitsonly to those who support the project, EDF and itsMexican subsidiaries have caused the violence toescalate in Unión Hidalgo. As a result, attacks andthreats against human rights and land rights defendersare increasing.”
CASE DESCRIPTION
“The Mexican government must guaranteethe rights of indigenous peoples. As a
company subject to the French law on theduty of vigilance, EDF is required to ensure
that these rights are respected in all theoperations it carries out through itssubsidiaries and business partners.
Putting up wind turbines does not make itexempt from respecting human rights,”
states Swann Bommier, AdvocacyOfficer for Corporate Regulation at
CCFD-Terre Solidaire.
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