Relatora Special Representative of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples

C/O OHCHR-UNOG
United Nations Supreme Commission for Human Rights
Palais Wilson
1211 Ginebra 10, Switzerland
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION REGARDING THE WILLICHE PEOPLE OF CHILOE, CHILE.
Here we present information regarding the grave levels of contamination that SalmonFarming companies (sanctioned by the Chilean State) have caused on land, coast and marine
territories that are the traditional and ancestral home of the Williche people of Chilo in
Chile.
We inform about serious events that affect the health and safety of the Williche people of
Chilo.

1.- Victims or Affected Communities: Names, numbers and full details about the location of
the indigenous peoples, communities or individuals whose rights allegedly are, or stand to be,
violated.
This communication has to do with the Williche peoples rights to land, territory, life, integrity,
health, culture and food security; in particular, of those who are homed in the west coast of the
Isla Grande de Chilo, Provincia de Chilo, Regin Los Lagos, Chile.
We refer specifically to the indigenous Williche Communities of Chanqun, Paliwe, Wentem,
Cucao, Rawe, Rawe-La Montaa y Quilque.
The Williche communities of Chilo represent approximately 600 families (3,000 people);
however, we recognize that this problem affects many other Williche persons who do not
necessarily belong to the abovementioned communities and organizations. Similarly, we
recognize that the general non-indigenous inhabitants of Chilo are also affected.
The Williche communities to which we refer here live on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and
their traditional way of life centers on the collection of shellfish, crabs and algae and surf
fishing.
Shellfish, molluscs, fish and algae constitute the daily and traditional sustenance of indigenous
Williche families.

Cochayuyo (a local algae) and macha (a local mollusc) represent the main sources of food and
income for these communities.
These communities hold communitarian land-titles over about 6000 hectaresin addition to a
few individual titles, which were granted to them by the Chilean State.
These communities have requested that the Chilean State recognize their right to preserve their
traditional ways of relating to the land by designating the 203,000 hectares of beach, sea and
seabed that extend from ango (north) to Caleta Zorra (south)the distance between these
two points is 45 nautical miles and that between the beach to the sea boundary is 12 nautical
milesas a Espacio Costero y Marino de Pueblos Originarios or ECMPO (Coastal and Marine
Territory of Indigenous Peoples) 1
2.- When and Where?: Exact date, time and place of the incident.
The incident took place in the coasts of Chilo, province of Chilo, located in the archipelago de
Chilo in the Los Lagos Region in Chile. The people who this report identifies to be directly
affected by the incident are those who are homed in the community of Chonchi.
3.- What happened?: Detailed circumstances of the alleged violation. Please describe all
events involved in the incident in chronological order. If the incident involves general
measures, such as legislations or national policies, indicate them and explain how their
impact on the affected indigenous peoples.
The violation, which is the immediate cause of the toxic levels of contamination in the coasts of
Chilo where indigenous communities are homed, was the known and registered disposal of
9,000tons of putrid salmon, containing high amounts of Hydrogen sulfide and Formic acid, into
the ocean.
Furthermore, these discarded fish contained high levels of antibiotics, which salmon farms
administer to fish to increase their mass. These 9,000 tons of decomposing fish were dumped
into the sea by 44 (approx.) farms located Chilo. These 9,000tons of fish were discarded
because a microalgae bloom developed on the sea-space where they were being farmed. This
algae-bloom caused the fish to asphyxiate. In turn, this microalgae bloom is one of the
consequences of the increase of water-temperature levels in the region. 2
1

The request for Espacio Costero y Marino de Pueblos Originarios was submitted to the SubSecretara de Pesca on
February 1st, 2016. The request was accepted for review and is currently being processed (Law 20.249 Ley
Lafkenche).
2
Hydrogen sulfide or sewer gas is a flammable gas contained in oil. It is colorless and has a characteristic rottenegg smell, which is perceptible at very low levels. The smell emanating from hydrogen gases is caused by bacterial

Discarding these 9,000tons of putrid fish into the sea was expressly AUTHORIZED 3 by the
Chilean State through two of its institutions: the Direccin General del Territorio Martimo y
Marina Mercante, DIRECTEMAR, (General Directory of Marine Territory and Merchant Marine)
and the Servicio Nacional de Pesca, SERNAPESCA, (National Service of Fisheries).
The dumping of these fish did not follow the procedure established by the 1996 London
Protocol to the convention on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and
other matter, and, in particular, the points specified in Annex 2. As member of this protocol,
Chile is required to ensure that all matter that is discarded into the ocean IS FREE OF CHEMICAL
TREATMETS. Furthermore, in the case at hand, the dumping of decaying matter into the ocean
was neither legally authorized nor supervised by provincial authorities.
On April 26th 2016, days after these putrid fish were discharged into the sea, a large number of
machas were found dead on the beaches of Chilo. A second, similar wave of dead machas
appeared on the same coast on May 5th 2016.
The first of these two waves of dead machas spread across 5 kilometers of coastal space.
The spread of the second wave was similar to that of the first one; however, its casualties
included other species in addition to machas, such as: crabs, crustaceous, giant barnacles,
Magellanic flightless steamer duck (which are currently endangered), seagulls, and sea lions.
This environmental catastrophe also affects some of the algae that grows on the rocks along
the beach, such as cochayuyo and luche.
DIRECTEMAR designated a marine zone for these putrid fish to be discarded. This designated
zone sits 75 nautical miles from the coast of Chilo.4 However, many witnesses have reported
that THE DECOMPOSING FISH WERE NOT DISCARDED IN THAT ZONE but instead, were dumped
at different points within a 10 nautical-mile radius form the coast. Discarding putrid fish at such

decomposition of proteins containing sulfur and, in the case at hand, occurs when fish fat decomposes. It is highly
harmful to human health 20 to 50 parts per million is enough to cause death.
3

Presently, there exist 2 know authorizations for the dumping of these putrid fish into the ocean: 1) Ordinario
12600/05/124/VRS from DIRECTEMAR, dated March 14th 2016 and Ordinario 12600/05/114/ VRS from
DIRECTEMAR, dated March 11th 2016.
4

A radius of 0.5 nautical miles (NM) located at 75 MN to the west of Punta Corona and with a centre in CENTRO
1; Southern Latitud 414615" , Western Longitude 075 4331".

short distance from the coast allows the tie to easily drag them toward the beachthus
provoking the environmental damage we are currently describing.
The situations that we expose here, if only superficially, represent grave and irreparable
damages to the traditional territory of indigenous communities of Chilo and, similarly,
significantly impair their capacity to secure food and incomewhich is to say that they
endanger their cultural subsistence.
The environmental conditions that we describe here place the indigenous communities homed
in the west coast of Chilo in a highly vulnerable situation. On the one hand, their rights are
being violated; particularly, those rights established by the Agreement 169 of the International
Labour Organization, that is, their collective rights to land and ancestral territory, their rights to
life and health, to food autonomy, and to political participation and self-determination.
Furthermore, these socio-politico-environmental conditions pose a serious threat to their
safety and personal integrity.
On the other hand, by withholding information from, and failing to consult with, the
aforementioned affected indigenous communities regarding the approvals granted by
DIRECTEMAR and the SANITATION AUTHORITIES to salmon farms for the disposal of fish waste
into the coasts of Chilo, the Chilean State has systematically and explicitly violated article 6 of
the Agreement 169 of the ILO. Similarly, this violation extends to the States lack of clear,
complete and culturally appropriate procedures to keep the affected communities informed
about its response to this crisiswhich, in the end, precludes the capacity of these
communities to uphold and exercise their human rights.
4.- Perpetrators: Detailed information about the person(s) or institution(s) responsible for the
violation and, if applicable, its/their relation to the interested government. If required,
provide justification for suspecting the previously identified person(s) or institution(s).
The responsibility for the actions we denounce here befalls to the Institutions of the Chilean
State that authorized the dumping of highly contaminated putrid fish waste into the coast of
Chiloan action that, furthermore, was not preceded by environmental risk-assessments and
other appropriate precautionary measures.
More specifically, the responsibility for the violation at hand befalls to Direccin General del
Territorio Martimo y la Marina Mercante, DIRECTEMAR (General Directory of Marine Territory
and Merchant Marine), a dependant of the Chilean Navy, and among whose duties it is included
to enforce the London Protocol and its Agreements.

Servicio Nacional de Pesca, SERNAPESCA, (National Service of Fisheries) a dependant of the

Ministry of the Economy is also responsible, since it granted its technical approval for the
dumping of toxic waste (i.e. putrid fish-waste) into the coasts of Chilo. Additionally,
SERNAPESCA is responsible for the supervising the fiscal activity of salmon farms in the
province.
Gobernacin Martimas de Puerto Montt (the Marine Government of Puerto Montt) is also
responsible, since the fish-waste was released into sea territory that is located within their
jurisdiction.
Autoridad Sanitaria y Servicio de Salud (Sanitary Authority and the Health Department) is also
responsible, since they did not respond (and have yet to respond) in an appropriate way to this
catastrophe. More specifically, they have failed to identify the cause/source of the
contaminationinstead, they claim that the environmental catastrophe at hand is an incident
of red tie, which was outset by El Nio. Autoridad Sanitaria y Servicio de Salud have failed to
respond to numerous requests to investigate further into the cause of this environmental
harmspecially, regarding the aforementioned dumping of fish-waste into the sea.
Finally, Salmon Farm Companies operating in the region are also responsible for this
environmental harm, in particular, SALMONCHILE A.G. There exist numerous records that prove
that these salmon-farm companies have discarded waste illegally into the seas of Chilo.
Regarding the incidents of fish-waste dumping discussed here, they DID NOT FOLLOW THE
EXTRAORDINARY PROCEDURES ESTABLISHED BY THE LONDON PROTOCOL, nor did they comply
with Chilean national regulationsthat is, those regulations that the aforementioned State
institutions are supposed to enforce.
5.- Actions requested from International Organizations: Have other legal actions been
initiated along with other international or regional Human Rights Organizations? If so, what is
the status of these actions?
Yes, actions have been requested from/with international organisms.
On May 6th a petition to implement Precautionary Actions (Medidas Cautelares) to protect the
rights and wellbeing of indigenous communities of Chilo was submitted to the Interamerican
Commission of Human Rights (Comisin Interamericana de Derechos Humanos);
On May 8th a report was sent to the International Labour Organization (Organizacin
Internacional del Trabajo) to request a visit in loco.

Information about this environmental harm has also been submitted to: the Chilean
Commission of Human Rights, The Chilean Chapter of the Ombudsman, The Latin-American
Institute of the Ombudsman and the National Institute of Human Rights.
These legal actions have been made publicly available through social media and national and
international radio, television and print.
At the national level, information regarding the aforementioned dumping of fish-waste has
been requested from DIRECTEMAR through the Chilean Law of Transparency 20.285. Similarly,
information has been requested from the Regional Health Ministry regarding the analysis of
contaminated water and infected faunaspecially regarding the presence of sulphuric acid and
other chemical compounds that are not normally present in red tie.
6.- Actions taken by State authorities: If applicable, what actions have been taken by the
pertinent authorities to remedy the situation? Have these authorities been made aware of
the situation?
Chilean authorities have not offered an appropriate solution for the problems currently faced
by the affected indigenous communities.
The Chilean State has not recognized the aforementioned illegal dumping of fish-waste into the
sea as a cause of this catastrophe.
Instead, the State has publically recognized the red tie as the sole cause of high toxicity levels in
the sea and the massive fatalities of marine fauna in the region. Moreover, the State has
restricted its response to economic and labour-related issues, thereby ignoring to address the
ways in which Williche indigenous communities are affectedspecifically, the culture, rights,
safety, food security and autonomy, and future development of the Williche people of Chilo.
As a reminder, we would like to recall that the Williche communities in behalf of whom this
petition is written have submitted a request to the Chilean State for a designated coastal
territory to develop and preserve their traditional ways of life. This coastal territory is the same
that has been contaminated and poisoned by the aforementioned inappropriate disposal of
fish-waste.
Lack of support to, and Repression of, Indigenous Communities
As this letter is being written, a large number of indigenous families whose homes are located
in the west coast of Chilo are fleeing their homes to set an improvised camp along the
highway outside of Chonchithe nearest town to their territory. This makeshift encampment

lacks sanitary and safety facilities and is shared by children, the elderly and other vulnerable
populations.
These indigenous communities are protesting against the Chilean State and Salmon-farms and
demanding that their rights be respected and the environmental catastrophe be addressed
appropriately.
Aside from a visit from local healthcare organizations, the indigenous people in this
encampment have not received any social, sanitary, alimentary or economic assistance from
the State. Similarly, no representative from the Chilean State has visited the encampment.
Affected families and community leaders are receiving independent food donations from
nearby communities.
Currently, Children and youth are not able to assist to school, which, for them, means not only
missing part of their education but also the meals that schools provide for them.
To protest and get the attention of provincial, regional and national authorities, these
indigenous communities have raised barricades on main roads to interrupt normal land
transportation in, into, and out of, the island of Chilo. Indigenous protesters face the imminent
danger of forceful political repression by the State.
A number of police units have been mobilized into the region by the Interior Minister
approximately 1000 units armed with riot-gear. Although these police forces have not yet been
deployed, their presence close to the barricades creates a threatening and tense situation.

It is Urgent to:
1.- To press the Chilean State to produce a complete report, official report regarding the
situations we expose here and in light of the Agreement 169 of the ILO. It is paramount that
the international community express their preoccupation about this catastrophe and their
support to its victims, particularly, for the health, food security, cultural survival and rights to
life, land and political participation of the Williche communities of Chilo.
2.- To visit the aforementioned affected communities to gather information and record the
testimonies of people and community leaders in transparent and culturally appropriate ways, in
order to identify the causes of this environmental injustice.

3.- In light of the likelihood that the Chilean State take forceful measures to repress the
aforementioned protesters, it is urgent that the Special Representative of Indigenous Peoples
express her worries regarding the lives and safety of aforementioned indigenous communities
to the Chilean State as soon as possible and, particularly, to request that special anti-riot police
forces be vacated from the territory, in order to foster a safe, non-threatening environment for
dialogue between indigenous communities, the State, and Salmon-farming companies.
7.- Identification of the Organization that presents the information.
This information is presented by the ancestral Williche organization, Consejo General de
Caciques Williche de Chilo (Konsejato Chafn Williche Chilwe), the leader of which is Cacique
Mayor Segundo Jos Armando Llaitureo Manquemilla. This is an organization founded in 1600
and the aim of which is to defend Williche territory in the archipelago of Chilo, province of
Chilo, Los Lagos region.
The Consejo General de Caciques Williche de Chilo expresses is desire to collaborate further to
achieve the aims of this petition and trusts that the wisdom of Chao Ngnechen will illuminate
the minds and hearts of all the people who conform this noble organization.
Warmest regards from the Williche people of Chilwe.

Armando Llaitureo Manquemilla

Cacique Mayor
Consejo General de Caciques Williche de Chilo
Mailing Adress: Casilla 352 Correo Castro, Chilo
Email: extensionwekimun@gmail.com
Telephone: 56/ 652- 800804

Chilwe, May 10th, 2016