LI VALENZUELA | EL SOL DE LA COSTA
Lic. Arturo Pembert Calvo, Oaxaca human rights ombudsman.Human rights angle to pollution of beaches in Puerto
Arturo Pembert Calvo said the most worrisome aspects are public health and environmental degradation.
¨Pollution is already affecting not only the locals’ health-related human rights, but also those of visiting tourists, who are the community’s first source of income. Puerto Escondido’s and San Pedro Mixtepec’s officials should be concerned, as should be the state and federal governments, because the human rights of the local population, and of foreigners, too, are being violated.”
All these issues carry with them the environmental degradation generated by any kind of pollution.
“We can build a human rights violation case because there are budgets that should have been spent on a series of environmental advances in pollutant waste management, like those produced by hotels and households. The fact that there is no drainage contravenes any developmental projects, at the local, municipal, or state levels. We find this worrying.”
Since high levels of pollution have already been detected on Puerto Escondido beaches, highlights Pembert, the first step consists in making the issue known to the public; people would then be able to provide information through a complaint or by approaching the ombudsman’s office. It would then be able to build a specific working group for the issue.
“This group would be composed of professionals with a specific profile, that should enable them to assist with these human rights violations caused by environmental issues.”
The ombudsman’s office has already stepped in on environmental issues in the region, such as the Cerro Hermoso case, in the municipality of Tututepec.
“A building being erected at Cerro Hermoso affected the environment: water flooded, a lagoon lost its oxygenation, and a beach was clogged with sand, killing life forms in this zone. We stepped in, issued the first ecological recommendation in the state of Oaxaca, and managed to get the authorities’ immediate involvement.
“The demolition of the built infrastructure is under process, which will allow the free flow of water, and the extra sand is being removed; this will allow a gradual healing for the lagoon, too. “This is why we are worried about what’s going on at Playa Marinero. There happen to be health effects that may not be yet perceived, which are related to these pollutant processes.”
The ombudsman insists that Puerto Escondido is in the midst of a contamination process, “its effects can’t be measured immediately but will affect public health.”
Regarding those liable, the ombudsman reckons that “regardless of those officials whose terms are over, who should also be investigated in order to know what exactly was their involvement, it is very important for those now in office to intervene right away, it is their business.
“If they are incapable of halting this pollution they could even be part of the complaint we’ll eventually file. They would then be evaluated, and we will find out who is going to be responsible of solving this situation.”
When a complaint process is enacted, Pembert explains, the result could be a recommendation where three points will be evaluated: the official’s responsibility, their proposal for no-repetition measures, and repairing all damages. All three conditions must be fulfilled, or the case is taken to the courts.
“There exists a constitutional court that assesses human rights violations, and if our recommendation in Oaxaca is ineffectual, the case might reach a human rights protection trial, that consists in putting an official’s and clerk’s responsibility in the hands of the courts. This may carry criminal or administrative sanctions.”
The most frequent complaints received by his office are those related with public security, the most serious ones involving arbitrary arrests, undignified and inhuman treatment, says Pembert.
The intent of the commission is to build a more robust complaint process, and heeding the necessities of the most isolated communities, providing them with translation services, a necessary aspect for an adequate defense.
He also mentions that an equally relevant issue are abuses committed by authorities, generally associated with municipal officials.
Over 100 people belonging to different groups attended a session of the Citizens Council for the Defense of Human Rights of the People of Oaxaca, which took place last Friday at Zicatela.
Photos by Li Valenzuela
