La Oroya Population v Peru: The Right to Development and the Right to a Healthy Environment Before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Abstract

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has recently adopted the judgment on the case of La Oroya Population v Peru, condemning the Peruvian state for violations of several human rights, including the right to a healthy environment. The violations were caused by the contamination of the air, water and soil produced by the mining-metallurgical activities in the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex (CMLO), and the failure of Peru to regulate and supervise the activities of the CMLO. This case shows one of the challenging aspects of the right to development (RTD), meaning, when an important development project that advances some of the rights of the population by producing economic growth, also causes human rights violations, especially to the right to a healthy environment.