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14 SUR - Int'l J. on Hum Rts. 71 (2017)
The Collapse of the River Doce Dam

handle is hein.journals/surij14 and id is 73 raw text is: I HE SUP FILE Ca4 NATURAL RESDUR{ES AND HUMAN RIGHTlS e I THE COLLAPSE OF THE RIVER DOCE DAM Caio Borges & Tchenna Fernandes Maso e The use of international strategies as a way of reducing * asymmetric distribution of power between human rights and business interests ABSTRACT The destruction of the Rio Doce basin in 2015, when the mining waste dam owned by the company Samarco collapsed, is emblematic of the tense relationship between ensuring human rights within international standards with particular attention to transnational, business activity in the countries of the Global South. As the situation unfolded the fragility of the state, and its various institutions, in ensuring the rights of the communities affected, in the face of the economic power of those companies involved, became clear. In effect, the companies responsible for the violations are the ones that are reconstructing life in the regions, as they see fit. The work of civil society and international bodies has focused on seeking to break state inertia and violatory practices, such as curtailing debate on ensuring access to legal processes and social participation. This article recounts a part of the efforts to gain international visibility for the case, using it as the basis to propose reflection on the deepening scenario of social environmental setbacks and violations of human rights, the result of the implementation of the current mineral extraction model in Brazil. KEYWORDS Mining I Technological disaster I Rio Doce I International Strategies I Business and Human Rights *SUR25-v.14n.25.71 - 87 1 2017