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Bajo Grande again in environmental and health emergency

The Municipality of Córdoba once again extended the environmental and sanitary emergency in the Wastewater Treatment Plant (E.D.A.R.) of Bajo Grande and in the downstream areas. It did so through Decree No. 3413 and the measure governs for 180 days. Neighboring Chacras de la Merced claim that the actions committed are not being met.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On November 1, Mayor Ramón J. Mestre signed Decree 3413, which reinstates this part of the city of Córdoba in a state of environmental and sanitary emergency, by virtue of the status of the Bajo Grande plant.

The measure is in force for a period of 180 days, from the expiration of the terms of Decree N ° 15 dated January 12, 2018 (which extended the environmental and health emergency prepared in April 2017). Therefore, the deadline for the different departments of the Municipality to carry out all the actions contemplated in the Mitigation Plan would have ended last November.

This new emergency declaration recognizes the complex situation due to the contamination of the Suquía River, which continues to receive sewage effluents with minimal treatment or directly without treatment. For this reason, and the same determination had begun to take the municipality at least since 2014.

The decision was made after a court ruling that ordered the municipality and the province to implement a series of measures to mitigate the effects of pollution produced by the plant on the population, particularly in the Suquía and surrounding areas. Then, the measure was extended by Decrees No. 1220/15, 3745/15, 1292/2017, 015/18, and now by Decree No. 3413 in order to continue the mitigation plan for environmental and health effects. proposed for the Bajo Grande plant, located in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood.

On the other hand, work continues on the expansion of the plant that according to the information provided by the Province once completed will benefit some 960 thousand Cordoban. These works would conclude in the second half of the year 2019.

Information requests: no satisfactory answers

In the month of March, and within the framework of the emergency decreed by the municipal government, together with Las Omas, civil association of neighbors of the Chacras de las Merced district, we made several presentations before the Secretariat of Government, Citizen Participation and Social Development, the General Secretariat, the Public Services Secretariat, the Ministry of Health and the Secretariat of Planning and Infrastructure of the Municipality of Córdoba. The orders requested information about the progress of the mitigation plan in Bajo Grande and downstream areas. Given the lack of response from the municipal administration, we present a prompt dispatch in the month of June.

The Ministry of Health was the only division that answered, but it did so incompletely and with information that contradicts what was reported by the people from the plant. While the municipality maintains that in the health centers of the area there is no shortage of stock and supplies and that human resources are sufficient to respond to the problems and affections of the neighborhood, the neighbors complain that “there are never enough medicines, ambulances do not want to enter the neighborhood because of the state of the roads and that there is only one doctor in the area who can not cope. In addition, the neighborhood health center only attends in the morning and when the doctor does not go, there is no replacement. ”

As reported by the Municipality of Córdoba, cases of Acute Diarrheal Disease (EDA) decreased between 2012 and 2017. However, in the Health Center No. 84 of the Chacras de la Merced District, in 2017 the cases of diarrhea increased with respect to 2015 and 2016, which shows that diseases that could be the product of water pollution persist and continue to affect the community.

Regarding this, Alida Weht, president of Las Omas, states that “the conditions did not diminish, what happens is that due to the large number of cases there are, people begin to naturalize them and stop consulting the health centers of the sector, for the lack of response and medicines for the treatment of these diseases. ”

The sanitary actions contemplated in the Mitigation Plan are: continue with the weekly evaluations of tracer pathologies (diarrhea, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, meningoencephalitis, HUS and others); ensure the provision of medicines and nursing supplies in a timely and sufficient manner; guarantee the availability of human resources for the care of patients in the affected area, with accompaniment and participation of the community; continue with networking with other nearby Health Centers and Institutions, among others.

However, Alida Weht, stated that there are currently numerous cases of gastroenteritis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, skin and eye irritation, respiratory diseases and that the actions committed in the mitigation plan would not be fulfilled. “They are diseases typical of the area, having pneumonia every year is a normality,” he adds.

The situation of vulnerability that lives in the community located next to the purification station is, today, unsustainable and degrading. Similarly, the malfunction of the plant has persisted for years, even the employees of the plant have acknowledged that they have reached almost 100% of the untreated liquids in the Suquía River.

From FUNDEPS we are concerned about the continuity of a situation of environmental degradation and violation of human rights. As Juan Carballo, Executive Director of FUNDEPS, expresses, “the situation is very worrying: a context of serious and continuous environmental impacts would require minimum of the authorities to report on the situation permanently. That does not happen at present; an expansion of the plant without adequate citizen participation, a deficient operation but without certain data and unanswered information requests further aggravate the situation “.

The situation is even more worrisome, if we take into account that there are eight municipal officials charged by the federal justice for the situation of the Suquía River, there could be evidence that the contamination has reached the mouth of the Rio Primero in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita.

This demonstrates the failure of the mitigation plans assumed each time the environmental emergency has been decreed since 2014. It has also been clear that the actions implemented have not been sufficient to mitigate the effects of the contamination of the Suquía River; and the situation of lack of protection suffered by the people of the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood.

We renew once again the claim for a definitive solution to the pollution of the Suquía River and, especially, for the guarantee of the rights of those who have been and continue to be affected.

More information:

https://eldoce.tv/sociedad/de-rio-cloaca-preocupa-la-contaminacion-del-suquia-planta-bajo-grande-chacras-de-la-merced-municipalidad-de-cordoba_68471

Contact:

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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We present a report on the human rights situation in Argentina before the IACHR

On October 30, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a communiqué inviting civil society organizations and other interested social actors of the Organization of American States (OAS) to send information on the situation. of human rights in the region. This information will be used for the preparation of chapter IV A of the annual report of the IACHR corresponding to the year 2018 that will be presented to the General Assembly of the OAS.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Each year, the Commission produces an annual report on the human rights situation in the region, reflecting the trends, challenges, advances and good practices that have occurred in the area of ​​human rights in the OAS member states during the year.

For the Annual Report of 2018, the Commission will emphasize the following axes: Democratic Institutionalization, Institutionality in Human Rights, Access to Justice, Citizen Security and Right to the Environment.

Together with lawyers and lawyers from the Argentine Northwest on Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES) we present a report on these axes in the areas we work on:

Institutionality in human rights

1. Hierarchical reduction of National Ministries of Environment, Culture, Health, Labor and Modernization and Communication
2. National Budget 2019
3. Comprehensive Sexual Education Law in danger

Access to justice

1. Preoccupation with the draft bill on collective processes
2. Access to the right to abortion in Argentina – Delay of justice in the case of Portal de Belén (by non-punishable abortion protocol in the province of Córdoba)
3. Access to justice for the elderly

Citizen security

1. Institutional Violence in Tucumán
2. Absence of mechanisms to prevent torture in Tucumán

Right to the Environment

1. Affectations to the right to health caused by the use of agrochemicals
2. Concern over project to amend the seed law
3. Failure to comply with the consultation and free, prior and informed consent of provincial law No. 5,915 to the detriment of the environment and the right to life and territory of indigenous communities in Jujuy.
4. Chinchillas Mining Project and the Pozuelos Lagoon in Jujuy
5. The indigenous community of Solco Yampa and the indiscriminate felling of trees in the province of Tucumán
6. Murder of Javier Chocobar in Tucumán

The cases presented in this report give an account of a general situation of regression of the fulfillment of human rights by the Argentine State. The exposed situations of vulnerability are particularly worrisome because they are part of a regional socio-political crisis context. In order to avoid the impact of cuts, the noncompliance with international standards and the promotion of public policies that do not attack the roots of structural inequality impact fully on the populations that are already in a situation of vulnerability, we ask the IACHR to publicly express concern about the state of compliance with human rights in the country.

More information

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Agrochemicals continue to affect the communities of Córdoba

During the month of October, we worked with the communities of Colonia Tirolesa and Falda del Carmen, two towns in Cordoba that for years suffer the consequences of the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals near populated areas. We accompany and support your claim trying to empower affected communities in the protection of health rights and a healthy environment.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

We participated in the “Agrochemicals, Health and Environment” Conference in Colonia Tirolesa

At the beginning of October, the “Agrochemicals, Health and Environment” conference was held in Colonia Tirolesa, a town located 27 km from the city of Córdoba, dedicated to agricultural activities, in particular to the production of potatoes, soybeans and corn.

The meeting was a good opportunity to continue learning from the communities that live near fields that are frequently sprayed with agrochemicals. During this meeting, members of the community had the opportunity to express their concerns and feelings about this problem, including the diseases that affect them.

In addition, members of the “Epidemiology Group of the Digna Science” of Córdoba and Buenos Aires, showed the results of the survey carried out through Socioenvironmental Health Surveys, carried out in May 2017 in the neighborhood of the Colonia Tirolesa station, in around 76 homes. The aim of the surveys is to contribute to the visibility of the health problems presented by populations exposed to socio-environmental risks and damages, thereby strengthening the fight against the hegemonic model of agricultural production.

One of the most striking results was that, in the last 20 years, the biggest causes of death in the neighborhood are malignant tumors (30%) and respiratory causes (22%), with cardiovascular diseases being the third (19 %), being that at the national level the latter is the main cause of death.

We participate in the meeting through the development of community capacities regarding their right to health and a healthy environment. María, Coordinator of the Environment area, was in charge of teaching these rights and the different ways in which members of the community are able to claim them.

An agronomist was also present at this multidisciplinary event. There, he explained to the community that there are alternative forms of production, which do not imply any damage to health or the environment. His talk focused on agroecological practices and how to apply those practices in the field.

It was a very mobilizing event, because although residents of Colonia Tirolesa knew that the excessive and uncontrolled use of agrochemicals could affect their health and environment, they had not taken real dimension of the problem, until they were shown the results of the health surveys. It was a good opportunity for them to take a real awareness of the dangers of being permanently exposed to these agricultural chemicals.

Visit to Falda del Carmen

In October, we also met with neighbors of Falda de Carmen, a small city near Córdoba Capital, which for some years has been demanding a municipal ordinance that creates an Environmental Conservation Zone to prohibit the use of agrochemicals in the fields to populated areas.

During the visit, they told us about their beginnings in this fight against rural entrepreneurs and agrochemicals, how they were organized in the Neighborhood Environmental Commission and the different actions taken to raise awareness and raise awareness in the commune about this problem that affects them.

From FUNDEPS we committed to help the community of Falda del Carmen in the development of advocacy strategies and to support their claims in order to strengthen their human rights to health and a healthy environment.

Contact

María Pérez Alsina, mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

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UN Committee ends report on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Argentina

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded on September 28 the fourth report of Argentina on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

After an interactive dialogue with the Argentine delegation, the Analysis Committee was integrated The report was presented by the State and also the information by civil society organizations through the shadow reports.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

Main conclusions

One of the central issues addressed by the Committee was the financial crisis, because in a context where poverty rates continue, policies to reduce social programs have been implemented, deepening the vulnerability of some social groups. The Argentine State was also questioned about the situation faced by its government institutions, the degradation of some ministries to secretariats, and about the appointment of the Ombudsman.

On the other hand, he expressed his concern for the repression of social protest and access to the land of native peoples. In addition, although the Committee congratulated the adoption of the Gender Identity and Equal Marriage Law in the country, it drew attention to the lack of access to work and harassment in the educational system for LGBTI people, people with disabilities, migrants and women. He also asked the State about youth unemployment, informal work, and several issues related to education (school dropout, sexual and reproductive education and teaching of native languages).

Find more information on public education and comprehensive sex education.

Equality between men and women

Argentine women are affected by the unpaid work of family care, the low rate of labor participation, lack of universal provision of social services and low representation in senior positions in various sectors (particularly justice and the private sector). Therefore, the Committee recommends strengthening legislative provisions and public policies with assigned budgets, aimed at achieving equal rights for men and women, including a public system of comprehensive care, the implementation of measures against social stereotypes that affect women and the promotion of reconciliation policies between work and family life.

On equal opportunities for women and LGBTI people in media organizations, you may be interested in the following link.

Sexual and reproductive rights

Regretting that the bill of voluntary interruption of pregnancy was not approved, the Committee highlighted the high numbers of dangerous abortions in Argentina

and the obstacles to access to abortion in the causes foreseen by the current law, such as the lack of adequate medicines and the negative impact of conscientious objection by health professionals. He also highlighted the lack of a normative and institutional framework to guarantee adequate health services for intersex people.

Among its recommendations in this area, are the provision of contraceptive methods throughout the territory, as well as the adoption of effective measures for the effective implementation of the causes of non-punishable abortion in all provinces – under the provisions of the FAL ruling – and access to medications that allow a safe pregnancy termination. It also recommended the regulation of conscientious objection in order not to obstruct the rapid and effective access to abortion, with dignified treatment by health professionals for patients seeking access to abortion services, as well as not criminalizing women who resort to abortion. practice. Finally, it recommended adopting a normative and institutional framework to guarantee adequate health services for intersex people.

Violence against women

The Committee is concerned about the seriousness of violence against women and girls, with 251 femicides in 2017, despite some progress (such as the inclusion of the figure of femicide in the Criminal Code and the law of Integral Protection). For this, he urged the State to consider the needs of victims of gender violence in the judiciary, to implement free and specialized sponsorship services for women and to improve measures to guarantee the investigation, punishment and reparation of acts of violence , in order to achieve full protection for women and their children.

Feeding

On this point, the Committee regretted the absence of an explicit constitutional recognition and protection of the right to food, the lack of implementation of the Family Agriculture Law No. 27,118, budget and personnel cuts in the family agriculture sector and the increase of people who depend on school and community dining rooms.

He also expressed concern about the increase in the rates of overweight and obesity, the absence of state measures to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and the lack of adequate regulation to restrict the advertising of unhealthy foods.

In this sense, its main recommendations were to adopt a normative framework that expressly recognizes the right to food and that guides public policies that ensure a healthy, nutritious and sufficient diet, especially for disadvantaged groups. This includes ensuring the effective implementation of the Family Farming Law and taking effective measures to discourage the consumption of foods and beverages harmful to health. At this point, it was even recommended to increase the tax on sugary drinks, strengthening the regulation of the Argentine Food Code in terms of front labeling of foods, including information on sugar in the products, and implement restrictions on the advertising of food and drinks harmful to health, particularly those intended for children and adolescents.

Learn more about food labeling and consumption of sugary drinks.

Health and tobacco use

The high consumption of tobacco has a great negative impact on the health of people in Argentina. The regulation of taxes on tobacco is insufficient and the regulation on advertising campaigns is precarious, so the Committee recommended to our State to adopt more robust measures for the prevention of consumption. Among these, mention is made of the tax increase at a level sufficient to have a deterrent effect on tobacco consumption, the prohibition on advertising, and information campaigns on the negative impact of tobacco on health, with emphasis on the protection of tobacco products. children and youth

In addition, he urged the State to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and to adjust the internal regulations on the advertising of tobacco products to the standards established in this Agreement.

Here you can read more about the tobacco control framework agreement.

Mining and the environment

The use of certain unconventional methods of exploitation of hydrocarbons, such as fracking, and the local impact of these forms of exploitation were another concern of the Committee. In particular because of the negative impact they can have on the environment, water and health. Therefore, the country was recommended to adopt a fracking regulatory framework that includes assessments of its impact in all provinces, prior consultations with affected communities, and appropriate documentation of its effects on air and water pollution, emissions radioactive, the risks to health and safety at work, the effects on public health, noise pollution, light and stress, seismic activity that can trigger, threats to agriculture and soil quality, and to the climate system.

Agriculture, healthy environment and health

The increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides that include glyphosate is worrisome, despite the serious adverse impacts on health and the environment of many of them, indicated as probably carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). ) of the World Health Organization.

In this regard, the Committee recommended that Argentina adopt a regulatory framework that includes the application of the precautionary principle regarding the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides, particularly those that include glyphosate, to prevent negative health impacts from its use and in the degradation of the environment.

On the application of agrochemicals, you may be interested in the following link.

 

Writer: Mayca Balaguer

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Escazú Agreement: An opportunity to guarantee the application of Principle 10 in LAC

“Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean” was approved in Escazú, Costa Rica, on March 4, 2018, officially opens to the signature of the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It requires that 11 countries sign and ratify it to enter into force.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On the day of the date, the Escazú Agreement is opened for signature at the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations, in New York. The agreement adopted by 24 countries of the region on March 4, will be open for signature by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) until September 26, 2020 and will need the ratification of 11 countries to enter into force.

The treaty seeks to guarantee the full and effective application of Principle 10, embodied in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992, in Latin America and the Caribbean. For its part, Principle 10 seeks to ensure that everyone has access to information, participates in decision-making and accesses justice in environmental matters, in order to guarantee the right to a healthy and sustainable environment of present generations and future.

The importance of the Escazú Agreement is that it is the first of its kind in the world that includes specific binding provisions for the protection of individuals, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters. Likewise, it is the only binding treaty issued by the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20).

In particular, for Argentina, which is characterized by having the highest deforestation rates in the world, as well as the lack of access to environmental information and the lack of participatory public policies, the entry into force of this binding regional agreement will allow the strengthening of access rights in environmental matters.

In the same sense, it will allow preventing the environmental costs of the decisions that have to do with the economic development and to improve the management of the multiple socio-environmental conflicts existing in the territory.

For these reasons, we present a letter to the former Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and another to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, urging the signature and adhesion of the Argentine government to the Escazú Agreement.

Also, through a press release, UN human rights experts urge the States in Latin America and the Caribbean to sign and ratify, as soon as possible, a pioneering environmental treaty for the region.

The experts added that States should adopt, in their strategies to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an approach that encompasses society as a whole. They also noted that an essential aspect of States’ international human rights obligations is to ensure the protection, respect and support of individuals who raise concerns about the negative impact on human rights, including in the context of the development of human rights. projects that involve companies

“By signing and promptly ratifying this innovative treaty, the Latin American and Caribbean States will reinforce their firm commitment to environmental protection and human rights, and above all, they will send an unequivocal message in favor of multilateralism, solidarity, equality and regional integration, while promoting collaboration with other regions, “they said.

We believe that the entry into force of the regional agreement will be a fundamental step towards achieving a true environmental democracy. Therefore, we urge Argentina and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to sign and ratify, as soon as possible, this historic treaty for the region.

 

More information

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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We urge the accession of Argentina to the Escazú Agreement

Through a letter addressed to the former Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and another to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, we request the signature and adhesion of the Argentine government to the Escazú Agreement. The agreement will be open for signature from September 27, 2018 and needs 11 countries in the region to sign and ratify to enter into force.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

The Escazú Agreement is the “Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean,” adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, on March 4, 2018 , by 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina. After a negotiation process that formally began in 2012 at the Rio +20 Conference with the Declaration on the Application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, it was adopted an agreement that seeks to guarantee the effective implementation of access rights: access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. It will be open for signature by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations headquarters in New York, from September 27, 2018 to September 26, 2020, and will be subject to subsequent ratification, acceptance or approval of the States that have signed it. At least 11 countries must sign and ratify it so that it can enter into force. In order to achieve the entry into force of the Escazú Agreement, we presented a letter addressed to the former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Rabbi Sergio Bergman, and another letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Jorge Marcelo Faurie, requesting the signature and adhesion of the Argentine government to the regional agreement. At the same time, we urge you to support the efforts of the governments and civil society organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean to invite the other governments of the region to sign this important treaty. In the letter addressed to the national authorities we highlighted the importance of the regional agreement since it is the first treaty on environmental issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the first in the world to guarantee the protection and safety of people, groups and organizations defending human rights in environmental matters. We hope that Argentina, as well as the other countries of the region, will sign and ratify the regional agreement on Principle 10. In this way we will have an international instrument to reaffirm the right of all people to a healthy environment and sustainable development, the fight against inequality and discrimination, as well as ensuring the participation of citizens in decisions that affect their lives and environment.

 

More Information:

Writer: Ananda Lavayen

Coctact:

María Pérez Alsina: mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

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Reporting to the DESC Committee

In collaboration with other civil society organizations, we made several reports to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DESC) for its session No. 64. Through them we intend to bring critical observations and recommendations on issues related to DESC that have been part of the work agenda of our organization, and so give an update of the report presented at the instance of sessions of the Preparatory Working Group, in 2017.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

Argentina has ratified the International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights (PIDESC), committing itself to comply with the obligations derived from this pact. The ICESCR, like other human rights treaties, establishes a set for monitoring its level of compliance: the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). In this sense, the Supreme Court has recognized this committee as an “authorized interpreter” of the Covenant, which sometimes has a constitutional hierarchy.
The monitoring mechanism established in the same includes, in turn, the possibility of participating in civil society in different stages, through the presentation of reports: the Committee receives reports from the State as well as from civil society and evaluates them, for Then issue your Final observations. The importance of these observations is that they are used as tools to demand compliance with human rights standards in the matter of ESCR.
In this context, we have presented several reports that warn about the situations of rights being affected in different areas.

Health:

  • Situation of chronic noncommunicable diseases in Argentina:

We recommend urging the State to adopt some measures to reduce the consumption of tobacco products and unhealthy foods.

Among them, the limitation of advertising aimed at children, the adoption of a more simple and understandable nutrition labeling, the raising of taxes, the ratification by the Argentine State of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the adoption of measures that protect especially vulnerable groups.

  • Current situation regarding marketing practices of milk formulas:

In this regard, we recommend urge the Argentine government to regulate and restrict the marketing strategies of formulas of breast milk, to continue to promote breastfeeding beyond awareness campaigns, to prevent interference from industry processes related to the field of public health and to promote transparency in the sponsorship of academic events and research.

  • Situation of the regulations of geriatric residences:

We recommend the enactment of a national law that establishes minimum budgets to be guaranteed in all nursing homes in the country, in accordance with the rights and paradigm established in the Inter-American Convention for the Protection of Older Persons, as well as local laws that accept this paradigm. Likewise, it is recommended to urge the Argentine State to publicize the data related to the authorizations and controls of said residences.

  • Lack of access to sexual and reproductive rights:

The situation of low access to contraceptives and abortion practices is worrisome in cases allowed by law. We recommend then to urge the State to provide the necessary supplies to comply with sexual and reproductive rights, as well as to ensure that conscientious objection does not impede access to them. Finally, we recommend urging the State to train health professionals, in accordance with the international standards set by WHO for access to safe abortion, and the promotion of legislative discussion for the legalization of abortion.

Democracy

  • Current situation of the Ombudsman’s Office:

This institution continues to abide by it for 11 years, which is configured as a weakening of the DESC protection system. In this regard, we have recommended, among other things, to designate as soon as possible a person in charge of the Office of the Ombudsman of the Nation and to reformulate the procedures for selecting it.

  • Access to public information on environmental matters:

We recommend that the Committee urge the State to guarantee access to public information on environmental matters in view of the progress of major infrastructure projects, extractive industries and Chinese investments; promoting the creation of instances and / or mechanisms of citizen participation. In addition to promoting the protection of those who defend their rights and oppose the advancement of large infrastructure projects.

  • Draft Bill of Collective Proceedings:

We recommend that the State abstain from promoting the Draft Bill of collective actions before the National Congress and promote a regulation that conforms to current international and constitutional standards in terms of access to justice and effective judicial protection of groups in vulnerable situations.

Ambient

  • Use and application of agrochemicals:

We warn about the effects on the right to health derived from the use of agrochemicals; recommending the adoption of a national regulation that regulates the use and application of agrochemicals and requesting the revision and adaptation of national and provincial regulations to the new categories established by the WHO regarding the classification of phytosanitary products. In addition, the adoption of measures to minimize the impact of the use of agrochemicals and periodic epidemiological evaluations is recommended.

More Information

Contacts

Agustina Mozzoni: agustinamozzoni@fundeps.org

Carolina Tamagnini: carotamagnini@fundeps.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We present observations to the “good practices” of agrochemical application

The Final Report of the Interministerial Working Group on Good Practices in the Field of Phytosanitary Applications was submitted to public consultation from July 20 to August 20. From FUNDEPS we present our observations and objections to it.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Through Joint Resolution No. 1/2018, the Ministries of Agribusiness and Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation created an Interministerial Working Group on Good Practices in the Field of Phytosanitary Applications.
The objectives of the working group were:
• Elaborate the principles for ordering national public policies on phytosanitary applications, especially in buffer zones, and
• Make recommendations regarding how to improve the adoption, control and monitoring of good practices in the application of phytosanitary products.

The Working Group is made up of representatives of both ministries, the National Service of Agrifood Health and Quality (SENASA) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), who had two representatives each. In addition, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, the Federal Council of the Environment (COFEMA) and the Federal Agricultural Council (CFA), who participated with only one representative, formed a part. He met six times between April 5 and July 5, 2018.

The final result was a document that proposes 12 principles and 23 recommendations, which was open to public consultation for a month through a web platform with consultative status. The participation of the society was very low, only 180 people left settled their contributions, which accounts for the little publicity that was given to the report and the public consultation carried out by both ministries.

From FUNDEPS we make some considerations and objections to the document, including:
– The Interministerial Working Group is composed mostly of representatives of agriculture;
– Absence of participation in the work process of qualified technical professionals, universities, NGOs and civil society in general.
– The need for a law as a public health issue is not analyzed;

– It is not taken into account that sprays can not be controlled. No matter how much “good agricultural practices” are adopted and climatic conditions are taken into account, the chemical products that are used have persistence in the environment and are mobilized through water and air even after the application is made;
– There is no clarity regarding the technical criteria that would be used to delimit the “buffer zones”, nor how they would be respected;
– The carrying out of epidemiological surveys from the Ministry of Health is not effectively ensured in order to know the situation of the populations near cultivation areas;
– It does not consider the principles of the General Environmental Law No. 25,675 that governs any national environmental policy, in particular the principles of prevention and precaution;
– It does not contemplate an inescindible sanctioning regime to the control and monitoring of “good agricultural practices”, among others.
One of the proposals presented in the report is to promote a national law on the application of phytosanitary products, complementary to the regulation on product registration and the law on empty pesticide containers. From FUNDEPS we support the enactment of a national law of minimum budgets referred to the application of agrochemicals guided by the precautionary principle and to establish a reference framework that protects the fundamental rights to the environment, health and quality of life of people .

More information:

Observaciones al informe sobre buenas prácticas en aplicaciones de Fitosanitarios

Grupo_Interministerial_Fitosanitarios

Authors:

Lourdes Aparicio, Juan Bautista López y María Pérez Alsina

Contact:

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

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Third parties interested: judicial presentation in defense of the public domain of Los Paredones stream

FUNDEPS together with a group of neighbors and members of the collective “Todos por Nuestros Arroyos” from the town of Alta Gracia, requested participation as third parties interested in the case “El Potrerillo de Larreta Country Club S.A. c. Province of Córdoba – Ordinary “.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The cause, begun in 2013, discusses the legitimacy of the placement of fences to a public stream, for the exclusive benefit of the country Potrerillo de Larreta, restricting free transit to third parties and the use of it by the entire community . Likewise, the true scope and meaning of the public domain character of the Los Paredones stream is in question.

In the ruling of first instance of November 2017, the judge of Alta Gracia Graciela Cerini had resolved “to dismiss the lawsuit filed by THE POTRERILLO DE LARRETA COUNTRY CLUB S.A. against the PROVINCE OF CÓRDOBA as soon as it intends to install wire fences over the Arroyo Los Paredones in the entrance and exit of its property, having to demarcate the limit along the shore line “.

However, it then determines that it does not matter to simply authorize the free entry to the watercourse, and orders a series of questions to the Province of Córdoba and the Municipality of Alta Gracia. First, to determine how the public use of the stream will be in the affected area. Secondly, to take the necessary control, security and protection measures to achieve the harmonization of the interests at stake, while maintaining the existing fences.

In December of last year, Potrerillo de Larreta appealed the decision, referring the case to the 9th Nomination Chamber of the city of Córdoba, where the parties must express the grievances caused by the first instance decision.

In the city of Alta Gracia, the neighbors have been defending and claiming their fundamental rights in different instances and since 2011 the collective “Todos por Nuestros Arroyos” has taken the post. Thus, it has developed numerous activities in favor of the recovery of the public spaces of the streams of Alta Gracia, including Chicamtoltina and its tributaries, Estancia Vieja, Los Paredones and Coacamilin, in this struggle in which owners and real estate ventures began. to wire the margins of different stretches of the streams.

Faced with the ambiguity of the ruling, the continuity of the fences over the stream and the passivity of the provincial and municipal authorities, the neighbors of Alta Gracia together with FUNDEPS decided to intervene in the trial in order to guarantee the respect of the rights of collective incidence over the individual rights wielded by the country and reject the legitimacy of the fences while violating, among others, the right to free transit and the use, enjoyment and use of public domain waters.

More information:

Vecinxs firmaron por el espacio público

Vecinos firmaron para que se quiten los alambre en el arroyo

Contact:

maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

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Bajo Grande and Jerónimo de la Gente: A prize that seeks to cover a problem of years?

On April 6, the award ‘Jerónimo de la Gente’ was presented in the city of Córdoba and it was the Civil Association ‘Las Omas’, who won the first place after the vote. The recognition seeks to distinguish a citizen, citizen, or grouping of citizenship; whose work in Córdoba seeks in some way to address social problems.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Las Omas, an organization established in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood, since 2011 has been dedicated to the assistance of neighbors living in poverty and violence. At the same time, its president, Alida Weht, has been the one who has taken the bastion of the fight against pollution caused by the malfunction of the Sewage Treatment Plant of Córdoba.

The prize that Las Omas received is a distinction for their tireless work to improve the situation of women in the neighborhood, but little has been mentioned in the media about their immense work, to improve and protect the environment that surrounds them. Mayor Mestre has recognized Las Omas on the one hand, but on the other, he has not done anything to help them end the problems derived from pollution.

A few weeks ago, it became known that the Municipality of Córdoba admitted that the plant is not in perfect condition and that it is operating at 60%. Likewise, Daniel Bardagi, Director of Sanitary and Gas Networks, promised that in the next few days the plant would be fully operational.

This position of the Municipality collides directly with what is expressed by the employees who are working in the WWTP, and who have declared that the plant under no circumstances is able to operate at 100%. In addition, they have declared that the liquid that enters the station is not treated in any way and the conditions in which it enters are the same that it has when it is dumped into the Suquía River.

These comings and goings between the Municipality and employees of the plant, are not new and do nothing but dilate a situation that has long been unsustainable. The lack of responsibility of the municipal government and the desire to hide a reality that is visible so many years ago, has become a community of people who today are in a situation of extreme vulnerability.

Similarly, the problem of pollution is not only limited to the area of ​​the city of Córdoba. It has been verified that the unloadings in crude have arrived at least and safely to Capilla de los Remedios. Moreover, the samples taken and evaluated by the National University of Córdoba (UNC) show that the bacteria and coliforms present in the water 36 km from Bajo Grande, are in practically the same amounts and concentration as when they leave plant. Also, there may be evidence that contamination has reached the mouth of the Primero River in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita.

Derived from this contamination, neighbors of Chacras must face every day a myriad of problems, most of which are related to health (skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases). Similarly, the environment vitiated by the smell of cloacal water overturned raw, makes life more difficult in that place.

From the Municipality of Córdoba has been announced that in the coming days and weeks will be bidding three refurbishment works in the plant for almost 300 million pesos. These spare parts correspond to the failure of the mitigation plans assumed each year by the successive municipal administrations. According to Federico Kopta, of the Córdoba Environmental Forum, these spare parts and the expansion of the plant that is in progress will not be able to reverse or mitigate the current contamination situation, as long as the necessary controls on the sewage network are not carried out.

After years of claims, we have again asked the authorities to recognize the problem and take action on the matter. The situation of vulnerability that lives in the community located next to the purification station is, today, unsustainable and degrading. The Jerónimo de la Gente award, has managed to recognize the tireless work of Las Omas, but has not been able to cover a problem that they must face each and every one of their days. After this award, there should be a commitment of officials to families in that area and the environment of all inhabitants of the province of Cordoba.

Sources

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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We participate in the First Latin American Workshop on Litigation Strategies on Climate Change and Human Rights

From July 11 to 13, the First Latin American Workshop on Litigation Strategies on Climate Change and Human Rights was held in Bogotá, Colombia. The workshop was jointly organized by the Law, Justice and Society Studies Center (Dejusticia) and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The event brought together 21 activists and lawyers from Latin America who work on environmental issues and human rights with the purpose of training them on the new and innovative strategies of climate litigation in the world.

In this sense, the three main objectives of the workshop were:
– Analyze the theoretical and legal bases that have been used in different types of climate litigation in different parts of the world.
– Develop specific strategies that the participants can adapt to their own countries and organizations.
– Establish a collaborative network between activists and organizations interested in studying and promoting strategic litigation on climate change in the region.

During the workshop, various presentations were presented on the importance of climate justice, the types of existing climate litigation, legal principles and doctrines, legal precedents, climate litigation strategies, as well as the climate litigation challenges related to jurisdiction, attribution factor, causality, quantification of damages, among others.

Likewise, the new tendencies in the matter of climate litigation were presented, taking as initial kick-off the first guardianship on climate change and future generations of Latin America granted by the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia to 25 boys, girls
and young people, supported by Dejusticia.

More information:

https://www.dejusticia.org/tutela-cambio-climatico-colombia/
http://climatecasechart.com/

Contacto:
María Pérez Alsina –mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

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Concern and uncertainty regarding the progress of the works of the Villa Carlos Paz Environmental Center

The works of the Environmental Center of Villa Carlos Paz show an advance of 90% and estimate that in 30 days it will be in operation. Meanwhile, the concern of the residents of Malagueño continues asking for concrete measures to make effective the differentiated collection of waste as well as awareness campaigns.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The project “Environmental Center of Villa Carlos Paz” is being developed in a municipal area located near the National Route 20, which links it with the city of Córdoba, where the current open-air dump is currently operating. It will process the garbage of more than 100.00 inhabitants of the region that includes Villa Carlos Paz and neighboring localities (Villa Rio Icho Cruz, Mayu Sumaj, Cuesta Blanca, Tala Huasi, Cabalango and Malagueño).

In Centro Ambiental, it is integrated by three works: a sanitary landfill for the disposal of solid urban waste, a separation and treatment plant for leachates (toxic residual waste liquid) and the closure of the existing open-air dump for more than 50 years. years.

The works with a total investment of 188,403,896 pesos are being financed through the Environmental Management Program of Tourist Municipalities, executed by the Ministry of Tourism of the Nation with funds from the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) and the National State.

The construction of the Environmental Center began in mid-2017 and according to Horacio Pedrone, Secretary of Environmental Urban Development of the Municipality of Carlos Paz: “We think that by the second half of this year, we will have the new Environmental Treatment Center in operation of urban solid waste “.

While the works are advancing rapidly and the authorities of Carlos Paz announce that at the end of August the differentiated waste collection will begin in the city, in charge of the company Cotreco, in Malagueño there is uncertainty and concern.

In this regard, it is stated that although the Municipality of Carlos Paz has announced communication and awareness campaigns to the community on how to proceed when separating and collecting garbage, no concrete measures have yet been observed. The Malagueño authorities for their part say nothing about it, and taking into account that the Environmental Center will be inaugurated soon, the residents of Villa San Nicolás (Malagueño) fear that the place will become a new landfill.

The project foresees that once the construction of the Environmental Center is completed, the definitive closure of the existing open-air dump would begin, solving a problem that takes 58 years. Until recently, even the fire sources in the same one continued, affecting the smoke and the toxic gases emanating from the landfill to the San Nicolás neighborhood and other neighborhoods near the highway.

In addition, during the last months of December and January, the landfill was burning for more than 80 days, and therefore self-appointed neighbors organized protests calling for an environmental emergency to be declared as a result of the toxicity generated by the smoke from the burning garbage.

In short, the environmental damage affects the air that neighbors breathe, and due to the rains – which increase during the summer and tourist seasons – the ashes end in the San Roque dam that supplies water to 70% of the city ​​of Córdoba.

From FUNDEPS we follow this process and accompany the community of Villa San Nicolás to ensure respect for their rights to a healthy environment, health and access to information and citizen participation. Likewise, and as we have been saying for some time, we consider questionable the location of the Environmental Center next to the La Calera Defense Nature Reserve, and meters from San Roque Lake in areas that may have a higher filtration or percolation propensity towards the Napa of water.

More information

http://www.eldiariodecarlospaz.com.ar/sociedad/2018/6/14/en-agosto-comenzaria-la-recoleccion-diferenciada-de-residuos-52986.html

http://www.eldiariodecarlospaz.com.ar/sociedad/2018/5/15/asi-es-el-centro-ambiental-donde-se-procesara-la-basura-de-punilla-51764.html

https://lmdiario.com.ar/noticia/43262/malagueno-denuncian-problemas-respiratorios-por-los-incendios-del-basural

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Gonzalo Roza – gon.roza@fundeps.org