UN experts on Oct. 14 welcomed a recent ruling by Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) relating to Macro-Case 08, recognizing the responsibility of a director of parastatal oil company Ecopetrol and several state agents for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious human rights violations. The ruling concerns abuses committed during the armed conflict in and around the refinery city of Barrancabermeja in the late 1990s that saw several people abducted and presumably killed by right-wing paramilitaries.
“The JEP’s decision represents a significant step forward for truth, justice and accountability regarding the impacts of corporate activities in conflict-affected contexts,” the experts stated.
According to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, companies have a responsibility to participate in redressing the negative impacts they have caused or contributed to through their operations.
Ecopetrol is also accused of environmental crimes in Barrancabermeja and the surorunding region. A 2023 Earthworks study documented 23 confirmed cases of methane releases in violation of Colombian law. Ecopetrol’s hidden methane problem, if left unaddressed, poses a serious risk of jeopardizing Colombia’s global greenhouse gas mitigation initiatives, the report found.
Furthermore, “Crude Lies,” a report released by the Environmental Investigation Agency last year, revealed over 800 records of polluted sites near critical ecosystems along the Magdalena River between 1989 and 2018, with reports suggesting Ecopetrol hid 170 of those cases (20%) from authorities, in violation of Colombian law.
The “Crude Lies” revealed a “sophisticated system of surveillance that Ecopetrol apparently developed to monitor, influence, and coerce individuals and organizations identified as a threat to the company’s operations, including environmental activists, union representatives, and community and religious leaders.”
Ecopetrol has been linked to long-standing territorial and environmental disputes involving indigenous communities. In December 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling in the case of the U’wa Indigenous People v. Colombia. The Colombian state was found responsible for human rights violations, and was ordered, among other measures, to carry out a participatory process regarding ongoing extractive activities and ensure that projects within or adjacent to the U’wa reservation do not cause harmful impacts.
Throughout 2025, Ecopetrol has participated in 24 planning and coordination meetings with both the central government and local communities, and progress is being made to ensure a participatory process with the U’wa people.
The experts urged Ecopetrol to engage in a good-faith constructive dialogue with the victims and their representative organizations, adopting a restorative approach allowing for the identification of the harms suffered, expectations for reparations and the required measures that must be taken to help restore justice.
From JURIST, Oct. 15. Used with permission. Internal links added.
Photo: Crystalarts via Wikimedia Commons
