A regional network of environmentalists called on international human rights bodies to pay close attention and actively condemn humans rights violations committed by governments and mining corporations during the pandemic and the recovery period to follow.
Grim toll from Indonesia’s abandoned mines may get even worse, report warns
The proliferation of abandoned mining pits throughout Indonesia has led to the deaths of 168 people, mostly children, from 2014-2020, according to a new report.
Mining companies are required to fill in and rehabilitate their mining sites after their operations end, but many fail to do so, allowing the pits to fill with rainwater and become a drowning hazard.
There has also been little to no law enforcement against companies that fail to rehabilitate their mining pits, leaving the families of those killed without any recourse to justice, activists say.
Indonesian govt blasted over mining deaths
More than 160 indigenous people killed in conflicts while abandoned mines have claimed many children, report says
Abandoned pits turned into lakes near villages in Kalimantan have killed many children in recent years, according to an anti-mining group. (Photo: Greenpeace Indonesia)
More than 160 indigenous people have been killed in Indonesia due to conflicts between local people and mining companies during President Joko Widodo’s term in office, according to an anti-mining group s report. From 2014 to 2020, at least 168 local people died in disputes related to mining,” Ki Bagus Hadikusuma, a researcher for the Mining Advocacy Network, told media on Jan. 24 during the report’s release.