WCC News: Where there is water, there is life: Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia is taking both

On 5 June, churches and faith-based organizations from Colombia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, together with investment and ecumenical partners, submitted a complaint under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. The complaint concerns HSBC Holdings plc and its financial relationship with Glencore, the company operating the Cerrejón coal mine in La Guajira, Colombia. This is the third in a feature story series that illustrates the impacts of the Cerrejón mining operation on the environment, water access, and pollution. Matilde Sapuana lives in the Wayúu indigenous community of Jamiche, La Guajira, Colombia. The Wayúu indigenous people of La Guajira, Colombia, have faced decades of displacement, contamination and cultural destruction linked to the Cerrejón open-cast coal mine — one of the largest in the world. Communities report polluted water, failing harvests, and chronic respiratory disease, while remaining excluded from the legal recognition that would give them access to basic rights and state services. Photo: Sean Hawkey/WCC 18 August 2026 In one of the most arid regions of South America, water is everything. The Ranchería River that flows through La Guajira, Colombia —La Guajira's only significant river—was once the lifeblood of the community, providing drinking water, irrigation for crops, and pasture for livestock across six of the region's 15 municipalities. The Wayúu Indigenous people built their lives around it before Glencore arrived. El Cerrejón, Latin America's largest open-pit coal mine, is reported to consume up to 30 million litres of water per day for mining operations. That level of extraction in this semi-arid area depletes the aquifers on which communities depend. At the same time, the average person in La Guajira has access to just 0.7 litres of water a day, untreated, according to research published by the Universidad de La Guajira and cited by the United Nations Development Programme. A mine consuming 30 million litres daily, in a community, where the average resident receives less than a litre, is a shameful disparity. Since the expansion of Cerrejón coal mine, the river has been systematically diverted to serve the mine's operations. Independent studies have found the Wayúu now draw water contaminated with arsenic, mercury, lead, zinc, barium, and fuel residues discharged from the mine. Water levels have dropped to the point where communities downstream face chronic shortages, and 17 tributaries have disappeared entirely. El Cerrejón mine, majority-owned by Glencore, has also rerouted water, diverting more than 20 tributaries of the Ranchería River away from their natural course in order to extract the coal beneath them, according to court findings.  Broken promises A government dam, El Cercado, built across the Ranchería in 2011, has complicated the water situation further. The government promised to supply nine municipalities with water from the dam via aqueducts—but it never built them. Today, the dam is widely suspected of supplying rice and palm crops owned by private companies while no individual or community can draw water from it—though this is disputed by the Colombian government, insisting that nobody has access to the dam's water. What is not in dispute is that the promise of a water supply remains unfulfilled.  The Ranchería river flows through La Guajira, Colombia — once the lifeblood of the Wayúu indigenous people, providing clean drinking water across one of South America's most arid regions. Since the expansion of El Cerrejón, Latin America's largest open-pit coal mine, the river has been systematically diverted to serve the mine's operations. Water levels have dropped to the point where communities downstream face chronic shortages, and seventeen tributaries have disappeared entirely. Photo: Sean Hawkey/WCC María Magdalena Brito, leader of the Wayúu community of El Pimiento describes what the dam has meant in practice: "The Ranchería River that supplies water has become a business. They fill up tanker trucks and send them to sell water. There is a dam that was built to supply water 24 hours a day—but it never worked. For us, no. For the companies, yes. For the inhabitants of the Indigenous zones, it has been of no use to us whatsoever.” Severe consequences The consequences for ordinary people are severe. "We have no water to raise our animals," says Brito. "The animals are dying of thirst. We cannot maintain a vegetable garden."  José Luis Amayo Urrarillo, from the settlement of La Granja—a community of around 550 families that has occupied its land for 100 years—describes the collapse of agriculture in equally stark terms: "Before, we lived from our harvests: beans, cassava, corn, pumpkin. Today we depend on products from outside. I try to plant corn and the shoots get covered in coal dust; they die." For Mildreth Guetta Uriana, the water crisis is immediate and daily. "Right now the water in my community is contaminated. Before, you could drink from the Ranchería—now you can't. Now, to drink fresh water, we have to wait 15 or 20 days for a truck to bring it. And when the truck arrives, you have to pay."  Under a court-ordered arrangement, Cerrejón is obliged to deliver 500 litres of water to her community every 15 days. "For a family of 10 or 15 people in one house," she says, "that is not enough. We are forced to look for more and buy it out of our own pockets.” Not fit for consumption Matilde Sapuana lives in the Wayúu Indigenous community of Jamiche, La Guajira, Colombia. Sapuana and her entire community are now forced to buy their water by the lorryload, as the spring in their village was blocked up by armed men with a bulldozer. Waste products from the mine are particularly dangerous for the communities. Coal seams contain arsenic bonded with minerals, but when mining exposes them to air and water, oxidation releases the arsenic into the water; this is known as acid mine drainage. Technologies exist to capture and remove arsenic from mine wastewater before it is discharged—so the contamination reaching the river system is not inevitable, but a measure of how that wastewater is treated, or not. Studies by Indepaz found concentrations of heavy metals—zinc, lead, magnesium, and barium—rising sharply at points where the mine discharges wastewater into the river system. In wells supplying the Provincial Reserve, arsenic levels were found at more than twice Colombia's permitted limit.  Keila Paz in the Wayúu indigenous village of Waréwaré, La Guajira, Colombia. The Wayúu indigenous people of La Guajira, Colombia, have faced decades of displacement, contamination and cultural destruction linked to the Cerrejón open-cast coal mine — one of the largest in the world. Communities report polluted water, failing harvests, and chronic respiratory disease, while remaining excluded from the legal recognition that would give them access to basic rights and state services. Photo: Sean Hawkey/WCC Jocelyn Carolina, leader of the Rincón del Cerezo community, describes the visible evidence every day: "Here, if you leave water for a moment, there is coal dust at the bottom. This water is not fit for consumption. When you bathe in it, you can see it on your skin." The health implications of what is in that water are severe and well established. Arsenic is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Chronic exposure to arsenic is a risk factor for lung, bladder, and skin cancers. Exposure to lead and cadmium—also found in mine wastewater—is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and chronic kidney disease. Contamination keeps coming Civil rights actions brought by Indigenous communities won favourable decisions from Colombian judges, who found that the respiratory effects children are suffering are caused by the dumping of mining residues. Neither Cerrejón nor the relevant health agencies have complied with those orders. Uriana has watched this process: "With the constitutional court, we have had rulings in favour of the reserve—confirming that there is contamination, confirming that there are illnesses caused by the contamination. But the things it has ordered Cerrejón to do—they do them, but only in their own interest. There is a health post that was ordered by the court—but what good is a health post if there is no nurse to attend to us in an emergency? There is a house-washing programme done once a year—which according to them reduces contamination. But that is a lie. You wash a house every day—and the contamination still keeps coming." Jocelyn Carolina, active Wayúu community leader, standing in for the formal cabildo governor, stands beside an old oil barrel used for collecting water, with an old miners hardhat that's used as a scoop inside. The Wayúu indigenous people of La Guajira, Colombia, have faced decades of displacement, contamination and cultural destruction linked to the Cerrejón open-cast coal mine — one of the largest in the world. Photo: Sean Hawkey/WCC For families living beside the mine, options are grim. People stopped using the Ranchería when they began suffering skin diseases they attribute to mining dust. They are now forced to drill deep wells, which yield often brackish water suitable only for animals, or they buy water delivered by truck. Many Wayúu communities have been left with dry wells, forced to dig deeper into the ground, or to simply buy water they cannot afford. In 2023, President of Colombia Gustavo Petro publicly accused Cerrejón of being partly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Wayúu children from hunger and thirst. Glencore denies that its operations have seriously harmed the water supply. "The way things are going," says Uriana, "our community is slowly being destroyed. It is very painful to see how our elders, the children themselves, are falling sick and dying because of a mine that arrived 40 years ago—only to harm us, only to destroy us, only to use us as a sacrifice zone.” The churches’ complaint in relation to HSBC bank is one example of the implementation of the WCC Hope for Children initiative, catalyzed by children and youth who urged the WCC to make climate justice one of the pillars of the Churches’ Commitments to Children programme. The World Council of Churches is inviting churches, ecumenical partners, and faith-based organizations worldwide to support an open letter backing an OECD complaint submitted by Methodist churches in Colombia, Great Britain, Ireland, and partners concerning HSBC’s financial relationship with Glencore and the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia. Churches, ecumenical partners, and other organizations wishing to endorse the initiative are invited to sign the Open letter here. Around Colombian coal mine, “people get very ill from the dust” (WCC feature story, 06 August 2026) Indigenous people in Colombia pay—with their lives—for coal (WCC feature story, 22 July 2026) WCC invites churches, communities to support call for responsible finance, climate justice (WCC news release, 10 June 2026) Faith-based groups submit OECD complaint concerning HSBC financing linked to Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia (WCC news release, 05 June 2026) Learn more about the Churches’ Commitments to Children and Climate-Responsible Banking See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC news: In wake of earthquake, WCC stands in solidarity with sisters and brothers in Indonesia

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended prayers and assurance of solidarity with the people of Flores Island and East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, following a devastating earthquake that struck the region on 15 August.  Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 18 August 2026 “We are particularly mindful of those who continue to search among collapsed structures and affected areas for those who may still be missing,” wrote Pillay. “We also hold before God those communities where access to food, safe drinking water, and medical care remains difficult.” Pillay gave thanks for the courage and commitment of the emergency responders, rescue teams, medical workers, volunteers, and all those who are serving affected communities. “We pray that their efforts may bring protection, comfort, and practical help to those in greatest need,” he wrote. “This tragedy has come at a particularly poignant moment for Indonesia, coinciding with celebrations marking the 81st anniversary of your nation's independence.” Pillay assured the churches of Indonesia that they are not alone. “We pray that your churches may be places of refuge, compassion, and hope – serving all who are suffering,” he said. “In the midst of devastation, may solidarity become a sign of hope.” The Christian Conference of Asia also called for prayers and solidarity. Christian Conference of Asia general secretary Rev. Jung Eun Grace Moon extended condolences. “In this time of anguish, we grieve with all those who mourn the tragic loss of life and the immense suffering caused by this devastating earthquake,” said Moon. “The Christian Conference of Asia stands in solidarity with the people of Indonesia and prays for God’s comforting presence with the bereaved, strength for emergency responders, and healing for the injured.” Read the full letter CCA calls for prayers and solidarity following devastating earthquake in eastern Indonesia (Christian Conference of Asia news release, 17 August 2026) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: WCC general secretary reflects on how the climate crisis is deeply spiritual

In a recent interview with EWTN News, Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), discusses how the climate crisis is not just an environmental but a spiritual issue. Photo: EWTN 18 August 2026 “Today, with what we are doing, we are not good stewards,” Pillay says. "We're not caring for the world as God has called us to care for it. We are exercising dominion. We are not thinking about generations that will follow.” During the interview, Christian Peschken, Geneva correspondent for EWTN Germany, asks: “Is the climate crisis more than an environmental, political, or economic issue?” Pillay discusses why caring for creation is also a matter of faith, human dignity, justice, and responsibility before God. The conversation explores the move from charity to structural change, the concept of climate justice, and whether care for creation can become common ground for cooperation between different faith communities. Pillay also explains the longstanding cooperation between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in addressing questions concerning creation, justice, and shared Christian responsibility. “The climate crisis is not just an environmental crisis. It is not just an economic crisis,” says Pillay. “It is a deeply spiritual crisis.” Pillay was also featured EWTN Germany interview on the topic “Can the Bible be used to justify discrimination?” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: At International AIDS Conference, WCC deepens work on equitable access to HIV innovations

During the 26th International AIDS Conference, held 22-31 July, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the World Council of Churches (WCC) deepened its work by living into the conference theme of “Rethink. Rebuild. Rise.” Photo: WCC 18 August 2026 Gracia Violeta Ross, WCC programme executive for HIV, Reproductive Health, and Pandemics, coordinated the Interfaith Networking Zone at the Global Village, a space open for conference participants and the wider public. The Interfaith Networking Zone served as the principal WCC platform throughout AIDS 2026, hosting sessions focused on youth and gender, sustainable financing, equitable access to HIV innovations, faith leadership, long-acting technologies, and community accountability.  Three featured sessions formed the backbone of the programme: “Youth, Gender & Access: Shaping Inclusive HIV Policy in the Face of Anti-Gender Backlash,” “Religious Leaders Advocating for Sustainable Financing,” and “Religious Leaders Advancing HIV Innovation into Access.” The Interfaith Networking Zone was intentionally designed as a welcoming and reflective space. “Interfaith decorative elements sourced locally in Rio de Janeiro helped create a distinctive atmosphere,” said Ross. Several visitors commented that they felt a sense of peace when entering the space and sometimes stopped simply to rest and reflect before returning to the conference.  “Community members from diverse groups stopped at the booth and left their prayer requests and suggestions of how faith communities can contribute to end AIDS,” said Ross. “To make the booth interactive, we included a prayer basket in each one of the three round tables.” The prayer requests received were from the hearts and minds of participants:  …for financial breakthrough to move away from the chains of debt …for more funding towards communities …for my son who has a mental health challenge …for all those that passed due to HIV in the Arab world …for government leaders, for open hearts and a desire for all people to have access to healthcare Visitors also shared their ideas about how faith communities can contribute to ending AIDS. Deep discussions Ross had the opportunity to enter into a broad array of discussions.  “One of the main areas where I contributed to the discussions was around evidence on long-acting injectables,” she said. “I argued that what is needed are simple ways of communicating existing evidence.” Ross suggested that scientific evidence should be translated into language that resonates with faith communities. “This includes theological, moral, public health, economic, and human rights arguments,” she said. “From a theological perspective, access to HIV innovations can be framed through the principles of justice, dignity, compassion, and equity.” During discussions, Ross and other experts wrestled with questions such as why should young people in churches not benefit from the scientific advances – and are these innovations not part of the answer to the prayers that churches have offered for decades while accompanying and burying people who died from AIDS? “In addition to theological arguments, I emphasized the importance of public health arguments, because HIV innovations can help reduce new infections and improve health outcomes,” explained Ross.  She also recalled the process of developing HIV-related law in Bolivia. “During the drafting process, people living with HIV advocated for the inclusion of a provision guaranteeing access to future scientific advances,” Ross said. “At that time, we were thinking about a possible cure, but the principle remains relevant today for HIV prevention and treatment innovations and, God willing, for the cure in the near future.” Discussions also touched on community preparedness. “I reflected on how communities of people living with HIV were engaged and prepared for many years before antiretroviral treatment became widely available,” said Ross. “Similar preparation is needed today in relation to any innovation, both, scientific and programmatic, including among faith leaders and communities.” She also highlighted the importance of collaboration among people living with HIV, religious leaders, governments, and scientific actors. “Governments create the laws and policies that can either facilitate or restrict access to innovation,” she said. “At the WCC, we describe this collaborative approach as a dialogue and intersection between faith and science.” Those gathered discussed why technologies that remain available only to certain populations or countries risk deepening existing inequalities. “A scientific innovation that can save lives, cannot become a commodity for those who can pay for it,” said Ross. Ross noted that participation at the AIDS 2026 conference significantly strengthened the visibility, influence, and strategic positioning of the WCC within global HIV discussions.  “Through leadership of the Interfaith Networking Zone, participation in high-level consultations, engagement with key partners and donors, and coordinated online advocacy, WCC advanced its priorities on sustainable financing, equitable access to HIV innovations and faith-science collaboration,” she said. “The mission generated new partnership opportunities, reinforced existing relationships and elevated faith-based voices within the global HIV response.” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland