The National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) referred to the gag agreement that the company Aes Gener – owner of four thermoelectric plants in the slaughter zone of Quintero and Puchuncaví – made with the members of distint fishermen’s unions, to desist from continuing a civil lawsuit seeking reparation for the pollution of the waters resulting from the coal strandings, made revealed by El Mostrador.
In this regard, the Chief Legal Officer of INDH, Rodrigo Bustos, noted that “the INDH is particularly concerned about this out-of-court agreement, since, as the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic has pointed out, the obligation to repair the environment is not subject to compromise , nor agreement that exempts the author from implementing environmental damage repair measures”. For this reason, Bustos added that “we will officiate to agencies with environmental competence, i.e. the Directorate-General of the Maritime and Merchant Marine Territory of the Chilean Navy and the Superintendency of the Environment, as the stranding could violate the right of the inhabitants of the commune of Quintero and Puchuncaví to live in a pollution-free environment, guaranteed by national and international regulations.”
INDH’s concern for this out-of-court agreement is based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which establish the responsibility of enterprises to respect fundamental rights.
These principles provide for companies to prevent their operations from causing or contributing to negative human rights consequences; prevent or mitigate the negative effects that occur directly by their actions, and even those for indirect reasons, such as their business relationships with other companies, even if they have not contributed to the generation.
