BOGOTA, Colombia — Indigenous and rural communities along the Nanay River in Peru's northern Amazon filed a complaint on Friday accusing the government of failing to stop illegal gold mining that is contaminating their water and food with toxic mercury.
The complaint was submitted in the country's capital, Lima, to the Secretariat General of the Andean Community, a regional trade bloc that includes Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. The communities argue that Peru has violated a binding regional policy adopted in 2012 to combat illegal mining.
A delegation of 10 leaders and residents from the Peruvian Amazon traveled to Lima for the complaint.
''Peru is not fulfilling its obligations, and that has allowed illegal mining to expand, threatening the lives and rights of Amazonian communities,'' said César Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who brought the case forward on behalf of the communities.
The Peruvian government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Mercury levels are too high
Mercury, widely used in gold extraction, is polluting fish — a dietary staple — and entering the food chain in areas surrounding the Nanay and Pintuyacu rivers.
''More than 80% of our population is contaminated with mercury in the blood," said Jhonny Huaymacari Yuyarima, who represents the Ikito Indigenous people and heads a local alliance of 33 communities in the Nanay basin. "The fish in our rivers and lakes are also poisoned.''