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Human rights commission urges oversight of technology used in Latin American environmental crime
The commission said satellite internet, drones and social media are helping criminal networks coordinate illegal mining and intimidate Indigenous communities.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights urged governments to strengthen oversight of technology used by criminal organizations in Latin America to facilitate illegal mining and logging.
Criminal networks are exploiting satellite internet, drones, and online platforms to coordinate logistics, monitor territories, and market toxic substances, according to REDESCA.
Public prosecutors documented 108 TikTok posts advertising mercury for illegal gold mining, accumulating more than 5.8 million views, while researchers recorded about 670 incidents involving weaponized drones across Latin America since 2018.
The statement coincides with a United Nations conference in Vienna, where governments are considering an agreement targeting environmental crimes, as Indigenous representatives demand stronger international action against criminal networks.
REDESCA urged tech and telecommunications companies to assess whether services could be diverted to illicit groups, while emphasizing that governments must retain primary responsibility for protecting remote territories.
A human rights commission called on Tuesday for stricter monitoring of the technologies used by criminal organizations in Latin America, ensuring that the use of tools such as the satellite internet, drones and online platforms helps support illegal mining and other activities that put forest areas and remote communities at risk.