Washington, D.C. hearing to spotlight the Canadian Government’s failure to prevent harm and ensure justice for mining-affected communities abroad

Ottawa – The Canadian Government has failed to respond to a decade’s worth of recommendations to prevent and provide effective recourse for harms related to Canadian mining operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a report by the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability that will be presented in a public hearing before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, October 28th.

MiningWatch Canada, Osgoode Hall’s Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) and the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) will make presentations at the hearing. The Commission has requested the presence of the State of Canada, but it is not clear if they will participate.

According to documented evidence, systematic abuses have been taking place against Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, workers and the environment involving Canadian companies operating in Latin America and the Caribbean with strong support from the Canadian government. The report calls on the Canadian government to take measures to help prevent further harm, including to stop directing overseas development aid and diplomatic services toward the promotion of large-scale mineral extraction overseas. Further, to enact legislation such that Crown corporations, particularly those that finance and hold equity in companies, comply with international Indigenous and human rights obligations. The report also underscores the need for legally binding standards and effective recourse to address the negative impacts that mining is having on communities, workers and the environment because voluntary standards and other existing measures fall short.

This hearing is part of the 153rd Period of Sessions of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The IACHR is a regional human rights body and an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States. It holds hearings twice a year, in the fall and in the spring.

In October 2013, the IACHR heard from the Working Group on Mining and Human Rights in Latin America about systematic Indigenous and human rights violations against mining-affected communities. The Working Group profiled 22 case studies involving Canadian companies with strong support from the Canadian state and observed a troubling pattern of abuses.

This hearing comes on the heels of the defeat of Ombudsman Bill (Bill C-584) in the Canadian House of Commons. Tabled by Quebec MP Eve Péclet, the bill called for the creation of an independent extractive sector ombudsman with power to investigate and make recommendations regarding the human rights impact of Canadian mining companies operating abroad.

WHAT: IACHR Hearing: Impact of Canadian Mining Activities on Human Rights in Latin America

WHO: Representatives from MiningWatch Canada, Osgoode Hall’s Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) and the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) will make presentations. The Commission has requested the presence of the State of Canada, but it is not clear if they will participate.

WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday, October 28 from 10:45am to 11:45am in the Ruben Dario Room (Eighth Floor), Inter American Commission on Human Rights (1889 F St. N.W., Washington D.C.). The event will likely be videotaped and livestreamed for which available links will be provided prior to the hearing.

Contacts:

Ian Thomson, Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability, ithomson(at)kairoscanada.org, tel. 613-235-9956 ext. 222 Jen Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, jen(at)miningwatch.ca, (613) 569-3439 Shin Imai, Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and a director of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), simai(at)justice-project.org, (416) 736-5274

Report: Human Rights, Indigenous Rights and Canada’s Extraterritorial Obligations – http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/www.miningwatch.ca/files/canada_mining_c...

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Washington, D.C. hearing spotlights the Canadian government’s failure to prevent harm and ensure justice for mining-affected communities abroad

Joint press release

28 October 2014

(Ottawa/Washington) The Canadian government is failing to meet its international obligations to prevent and to provide recourse for harms related to Canadian mining operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report by the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) presented today to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington D.C.

“Canada has a very strong presence in the globalized mining industry with almost 1,500 projects in the region, and we’re aware of a great deal of conflict,” said Shin Imai, lawyer with the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), who presented before the Commission. “Our preliminary count shows that at least 50 people have been killed and some 300 wounded in connection with mining conflicts involving Canadian companies in recent years, for which there has been little to no accountability.”

“Despite the abuses and growing number of communities saying no to large scale mining in defense of their lands and wellbeing, the Canadian government staunchly and irresponsibly defends Canadian companies through embassies, development aid and numerous other means,” remarked Jen Moore from MiningWatch Canada, who also spoke today.

For more than a decade, UN experts and treaty bodies have echoed calls from civil society groups in the CNCA and internationally that the Canadian government assume its obligations to respect Indigenous and human rights. Canada has been urged to take measures to prevent harm and to provide access to justice for communities affected by Canadian extractive companies’ operations abroad.

Contacts

· Ian Thomson, Coordinator, Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability, ithomson(at)kairoscanada.org, tel. 613-235-9956 ext. 222

· Jen Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator, MiningWatch Canada, jen(at)miningwatch.ca, +1 (613) 722-0412 (English or Spanish)

· Shin Imai, Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University and a director of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), simai(at)justice-project.org, +1 (647) 524-2312 (English or Spanish)

Background

Formed in 2005, the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) brings together 29 human rights, environmental, labour, religious and social justice organizations that are advocating for law reform in Canada to hold Canadian companies and the Canadian state accountable for human rights and environmental harms committed abroad.

Today’s report calls for the adoption of two law reforms identified in the CNCA’s ‘Open for Justice’ campaign: legislated access to Canadian courts for those who have been harmed by Canadian mining companies abroad; and an independent ombudsman office to investigate complaints and recommend remedial action where necessary.

The report also calls on the Canadian government to take measures to prevent further harm including, among others, an end to the practice of directing overseas development aid and diplomatic services toward the promotion of large-scale mineral extraction overseas.

Last year, civil society groups from Latin America presented a report to the IACHR about systematic Indigenous and human rights violations against mining-affected communities. They profiled 22 case studies involving Canadian companies that receive support from the Canadian state and observed a troubling pattern of abuse.

A copy of the CNCA report is available here: http://cnca-rcrce.ca/wp-content/uploads/canada_mining_cidh_oct_28_2014_f...