9 May 2025. Justiça nos Trilhos, a member organisation of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), received yesterday the Gwynne Skinner Human Rights Award at a ceremony in Washington D.C. The prize, bestowed by the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, recognises organisations that contribute to advancing corporate responsibility for human rights.
The award crowns years of perseverance in supporting the community of Piquiá de Baixo, which suffered the disastrous effects of the activities of mining corporation Vale S.A. and steel companies like Grupo Ferroeste. In October 2024, Justiça Nos Trilhos and the Piquiá community secured relocation to safe homes away from an environmental sacrifice zone, with 312 families settled in the new neighbourhood of Piquiá da Conquista.
"This award recognises the efforts to protect territories and the fight for human rights waged by Justiça nos Trilhos, the community of Piquiá de Baixo, and many other communities affected by the mining and agribusiness chains. It means certainty that defending life and territories is worth the struggle", said Renato Lanfranchi, one of the coordinators of Justiça nos Trilhos.
Piquiá’s struggle began in 1987 with the arrival of the steel industry and the construction of five plants along the Piquiá River. Residents lived with constant threats to their health as a result of environmental degradation, with several cases of lung cancer, skin and eye diseases, and severe burns.
Justiça nos Trilhos and FIDH extensively documented the crisis in a series of joint reports. They also denounced the judicial persecution, criminalisation, and intimidation faced by organisations and defenders speaking out for the rights of Piquiá. These collective efforts resulted in an appeal to Brazil’s government from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics.
Justiça nos Trilhos and its partners are continuing their fight to guarantee full reparation for the damage suffered, in particular by demanding guarantees of no more damage, debt relief for rehoused families, the transformation of the former polluted district into a public natural park, and measures to honour the memory of the victims.