A new dispute mechanism enables communities to challenge Chinese-backed mining developments, but it may have already failed its first test
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At 4,700 metres above sea level, oxygen is a lot harder to come by. But what is truly scarce in the highlands of the Morococha district, deep within the Peruvian Andes, is hope.
In 2012, the Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) began developing this area’s town of Nueva Morococha, a red-roofed settlement built from scratch. It rehoused 5,000 people, who were displaced by what is now one of Peru’s most important copper mines, named Toromocho.
Residents were supposed to receive compensation and new housing and stable jobs at the mine. However, according to residents, the new town turned out to be a lifeless model village, a place that failed to do justice to local ways of life and community bonds. They say jobs proved to be temporary and precarious, often ending after mere months without so much as a goodbye.
However, five families refused to sign up for this future. For 13 years, they resisted. This meant living without a regular water supply and having to light their homes using solar panels once the water and electricity services were cut off. Elvis Atachahua, 48, who makes a living repairing computers or doing whatever manual labour is available, was the voice of that resistance. He says they felt like strangers on their own land, and the former buzz of their township dissipated.
“Right now, all five families are drifting from place to place, living in nearby towns with relatives and friends who have taken us in.”
These families have also faced lawsuits brought by Chinalco regarding land disputes.
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Over the past two decades, China has become South America’s main trading partner. It is projected that Chinese trade with Latin America will exceed USD 700 billion by 2035. China-Peru trade reached USD 24 billion in 2024, of which copper ore accounted for 62%. Atachahua and others like him are experiencing the reality of this development first-hand.
On 19 September 2025, noise returned to Morococha: the stomp of boots and the clash of shields. Two hundred and fifty police officers had arrived to clear out the remaining residents. “It was a forced and inhuman displacement. They didn’t respect us. They demolished our homes, took our belongings, even our animals. They treated us like criminals,” Atachahua tells Dialogue Earth.
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Against this backdrop, a major Chinese industry association, the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC), has been developing an accountability mechanism since late 2022. Communities should be able to use it to raise grievances against Chinese mining companies and seek conflict resolution.
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According to a forthcoming study by Sustainable Latin America (LAS), an organisation focused on investigating the impact of Chinese capital in Latin America, Chinese companies have secured 59 mining projects in the region in just five years.
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As Chinese capital has proliferated across the region, local communities have discovered a lack of avenues for challenging developers. As LAS puts it, an “accountability gap” has opened up.
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Experts warn that, while the mechanism sounds smooth on paper, the reality is rougher. Caitlin Daniel from Accountability Counsel, a non-profit legal aid organisation, warns Dialogue Earth that the mechanism has yet to prove itself:
“We believe it could be highly beneficial and can formulate proposals that bring parties closer to an agreement. However, until the CCCMC takes action, it remains unclear whether there will be a genuine opportunity for dialogue to resolve this issue.”
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The Toromocho case was supposed to offer the CCCMC mechanism its first test. After the complaint was accepted, a historic visit was announced: Chinese mediators would travel to Peru in April this year to hear from Elvis Atachahua and his neighbours. However, the visit was cancelled with one day’s notice. The CCCMC’s explanation was brief, telling affected families that travel authorisation had not been granted. No further details or proposals for reorganising the trip were shared.
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Meanwhile, in recent years, the Chinese government has published a plethora of documents aimed at raising the human rights and environmental standards of Chinese companies’ investments overseas ... Belt and Road Initiative projects, [the Chinese government] states, should be “green, clean and sustainable”. It also urges companies to conduct “human rights due diligence”. Late last year, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the China Mining Association also released more stringent guidelines for environmental and social responsibilities, and for ESG reporting by Chinese mining companies operating overseas.
But Garzón points out that ... conflicts between communities and Chinese-led projects are likely to “keep intensifying and deepening”, adding: “This will undoubtedly cause increasingly large and unmanageable problems, which will pose ever more serious challenges to bilateral relations.”
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