Extractivism and Renewable Energies: Human Rights Violations in the Context of socio-environmental Conflicts

This report is part of the project “The Road from Paris to Sustainable Development: Effectively Integrating Human Rights and Gender Equality into EU Climate Actions”.

The Mexican case study focuses on the planning and design of renewable energy projects as a way to fulfil domestic climate commitments. More specifically, it addresses wind farm projects in Oaxaca and corresponding infringements of the rights of indigenous peoples. 

With a view to illustrating and informing the general report, the case study report adopts a five-step approach. Firstly, it provides an analysis of the Mexican context in which EU climate policies indirectly impact human rights. Secondly, an overview of the specific case being examined, the San Dionisio del Mar case, gives the reader a clear view of the factual circumstances relating to infringements of indigenous peoples’ rights. Thirdly, the EU’s indirect impact on human rights is addressed and explored in the San Dionisio del Mar case and subsequent similar cases of infringements of indigenous peoples’ rights. The fourth step is to examine proposals for preventing similar human rights violations in future. And finally, these proposals are summarized as policy recommendations. 

The case study draws on a wide range of sources, from legal norms to expert interviews, newspaper articles, academic articles and official reports at EU, regional and international level.