Walter Castañeda Bustamante
Walter Castañeda Bustamante is a rondero leader from the Celedín province and president of the Comisión Ordinaria de Comunidades Campesinas, Nativas y Rondas Campesina (Ordinary Commission on Local Rural Communities and Peasant Patrols). He has been a strong voice in denouncing human rights abuses committed by Yanacocha – the company that leads the Conga Mining Project – in the region, and was granted precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in 2014 in light of the pattern of threats and harassment which he experienced in his work to protect human rights.
While many human rights defenders (HRDs) can operate freely in Peru, those working on the environment, in particular on the environmental and human rights impact of the extractive industry, face harsh repression, including intimidation, smear campaigns, death threats, surveillance, and judicial harassment. Journalists and trade unionists have also been targeted.
