Stop Blood Coal – Towards Reparatory Justice
On October 21 last year, Kappen met Kolen, together with PAX and Still Burning, hosted a conversation with Colombian activists about the devastating consequences of coal mining in their country and the role of the Netherlands in the blood coal trade. In this follow-up session, Joseph Wilde-Ramsing from SOMO will provide an update on the OECD complaint against Dutch logistics company HES International and the Port Authorities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam for their role in the blood coal chain. Colombian activist Roxana will not only share her experiences fighting mining corporation Glencore, but also discuss what reparations could look like for local communities in La Guajira.
Together with Joseph Wilde-Ramsing Director of advocacy at SOMO Roxana Laura Ipuana activist from the "Piedra Amarilla" Indigenous Wayuu communityAbout the speakers
Roxana Laura Ipuana – our guest speaker, is a young activist from the ‘Piedra Amarilla’ Indigenous Wayuu community, born in May 2000 in the municipality of Albania in the La Guajira department in northern Colombia. As an advocate for human rights, territory, and the right to water, Roxana Ipuana has been working as a local researcher for the Samuel Arregocés database for five years, raising awareness about the consequences of mining expansion and the threats to social and environmental activists in the La Guajira region. The Samuel Arregocés database was set up in memory and recognition of the Afro-Colombian activist who, until his death in April 2024, fought for the protection of territory, water, and the right to a healthy environment in the face of the devastation wreaked by the Cerrejón carbon mining company (owned by the Swiss corporation Glencore).
Joseph Wilde-Ramsing is SOMO’s Advocacy Director and has a broad experience and expertise in corporate accountability across a wide range of sectors, including energy, extractives, manufacturing and finance. After leading the OECD Watch network for 15 years between 2005-2020, he now serves as a Senior Advisor to the network. He frequently assists communities and workers in documenting human rights and environmental violations, asserting their rights and seeking remedy for corporate abuse. Joseph serves as an Independent Advisor to the Social and Economic Council (SER) of the Netherlands and is on the Advisory Board of the Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines. Joseph holds Bachelor degrees in Political Science and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and a Master’s degree in political science from Tulane University. In 2013, he received a Ph.D. in political science and governance from the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He joined SOMO in 2005.
About ‘Kappen met kolen’‘Kappen met kolen’ is a campaign focused on ending the use of coal, the most harmful fossil fuel for the environment (through mining), the climate (CO2 emissions), and health (with the release of PAHs and fine particles during combustion). Although the Netherlands has only three remaining coal-fired power plants, it plays a significant role in the transit of coal to Germany and Central Europe: millions of tons of coal—partly blood coal from countries like Colombia—are handled through the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Activists from ‘Kappen met kolen’ regularly block coal trains and ships heading to Germany. They also target Tata Steel IJmuiden, a large consumer of coal used to extract iron from iron ore, and the biggest polluter and CO2 emitter in the Netherlands.
About ‘Still Burning’
Still Burning is a German network fighting against the global hard coal industry.
About Stichting Aralez
A pan-Decolonial Network for decolonisation
