PR Newswire
- Complaint tests Norway's human rights obligations as Europe's largest renewable energy generator faces scrutiny over operations in Indigenous territory.
Mapuche Williche communities from southern Chile have filed a complaint in Norway against Statkraft AS, Europe's largest generator of renewable energy, under the Norwegian Transparency Act. The complaint was submitted by the Aylla Rewe del Ngen Mapu Kintuantü, with support from ProDESC and the Initiative for Transnational Justice (IJT).
The Aylla Rewe del Ngen Mapu Kintuantü is an autonomous Mapuche Williche organization representing more than 150 communities in the Pilmaiquén River basin and surrounding areas. For over a decade, it has defended their territory, water, sacred sites and collective rights in the face of large-scale hydropower development.
The complaint asks the Norwegian Consumer Authority to investigate whether Statkraft complied with its human rights due diligence obligations in connection with the Rucatayo plant and Los Lagos hydropower project. The communities raise concerns regarding free, prior and informed consent, cultural and spiritual rights, the safety and integrity of women, children and human rights defenders, and the risk of irreversible harm linked to the possible flooding of culturally significant territory.
For the Mapuche Williche, the Pilmaiquén River is a living and sacred territory tied to ancestral memory, healing practices and ceremonial life, centered around the Ngen Mapu Kintuantü.
"This complaint is not only a legal action; it is a call to protect life, memory and our sacred territory. We ask Norway to listen to our word and to act before the damage becomes irreversible," said Machi Millaray Huichalaf, Mapuche spiritual authority and representative of the Aylla Rewe.
Because Statkraft is wholly owned by the Norwegian state, the case also questions how Norway's human rights commitments are being applied and how its state-owned companies operate abroad. The complainants are asking the Consumer Authority to prioritize its review given the potential for irreversible harm. Knut Hurum, who previously represented the Sami people in the landmark Fosen case, is the legal advisor to the complainants in Norway.
Next month, Machi Millaray and other Mapuche Williche representatives plan to travel to Norway. They will seek meetings with Norwegian authorities, Indigenous and civil society organizations, and will be available for in-person interviews with Norwegian and international media.
The complaint is part of a broader transnational strategy that also includes proceedings before the Inter-American human rights system and UN bodies.
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