Human Rights-Militarisation

Peru - Two killed in protest at $7.4-billion MMG copper project in Peru

whit — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 15:24:11 +0100

LIMA – Two protesters were shot dead and eight police officers wounded after a group of activists broke into MMG Ltd’s $7.4- billion Las Bambas project in a remote Andean region in Peru, the government said on Monday.

Peru, the world’s third biggest producer of copper, is expected to nearly double output of the metal in coming years, but is rife with conflicts over mining.

Indonesia - Antimining activist beaten to death in East Java

whit — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 14:37:34 +0100

Lumajang, East Java – The Lumajang Police in East Java have arrested 36 people on suspicion of involvement in a deadly assault that claimed the life of a local farmer who had co-arranged a protest against invasive sand-mining in his village.

Lumajang Police’s criminal investigation unit chief Adj. Comr. Heri Sugiono said his office, however, had yet to formally name any suspects, as the investigation was still ongoing.

“We are still conducting field checks, going deeper into the case.

Canada: Alberta Premier asks Indigenous peoples to be patient

whit — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 08:25:12 +0100

“It’s not something that happens overnight.” Alberta Premier asks Indigenous peoples to be patient while government works on promises

CALGARY – First Nations need to be patient when it comes to the province of Alberta implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other promises made on the spring election campaign trail according to Premier Rachel Notley.

In a sit down interview with APTN, Notley said her government has been working “furiously” over the last few months since taking office to move forward on a number of goals includi

Guatemala: Hudbay Minerals Evades Justice for Crimes in Guatemala

whit — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 09:03:26 +0100

Just how much money is Hudbay Minerals spending to drag out the precedent setting civil lawsuits in Canada and a courageous criminal trial in the Guatemala?

Six years after the mining related crimes took place at Hudbay’s mine site in Guatemala, no justice has been done for the victims, neither in Guatemala nor in Canada.

Most recently, Hudbay paid John Terry, a partner at the well-connected Toronto-based Torys law firm, for “many hours of work” (as Terry said in a Guatemalan courtroom on Sept.

Bolivia - What's Behind the Bolivian Government's Attack on NGOs?

whit — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 20:17:39 +0100

The fraught relationship between the government of President Evo Morales and Bolivia’s NGOs took a turn for the worse this past August, when Vice President Alvaro García Linera launched an attack on four well-respected Bolivian research organizations: the Center for the Study of Labor and Agrarian Development (CEDLA), the Bolivian Center for Documentation and Information (CEDIB), and the Tierra and Milenio Foundations.

Rising tensions in Bolivia over oil and gas exploitation on indigenous lands

whit — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 10:30:11 +0100

On August 19, members of the People’s Guarani Assembly of Takova Mora blocked a main highway in the Chaco region of Bolivia demanding their right to free, prior and informed consent regarding oil extraction on their communal lands.

Bangladesh government says ‘no’ to open-pit mine

whit — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 12:42:22 +0100

The state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, on Sunday said that the government was not interested to extract coal from the deposits in the north Bengal region using open-pit method.

‘We have decided not to extract coal right now… We must consider high density of population and the agro-based economy of the mining area,’ he said while addressing as the chief guest a seminar on ‘Energy Challenges to Vision 2030.’ The discussion was organized by weekly Energy and Power magazine.

Instead, the government is planning to use imported coal to run large p

How developing countries are paying a high price for the global mineral boom

whit — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 11:02:24 +0100

Soaring worldwide demand for the minerals used in electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops has left a legacy of social conflict and human rights violations across Asia, Latin America and Africa

A 200ft deep pit gapes where three years ago stood a mountain.

Canadian Church Is to Divest Goldcorp Shares

whit — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 13:07:48 +0100

The United Church of Canada wants its pension board to sell its shares in Goldcorp.

The motion calling for divestment was approved on Aug.

Cambodia - M’kiri indigenous rally blocked

whit — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 12:37:06 +0100

Hundreds of indigenous peoples in Mondulkiri are planning to lodge a complaint with the National Assembly and relevant ministries to demand the ouster of the provincial governor after authorities yesterday pre-emptively shut down celebrations in honour of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Around 700 members of the Phnong ethnic group in Pou Chrei commune’s Puo Tang village, in Mondulkiri’s Pech Chreada district, slaughtered chickens, pigs and a buffalo in a ritual yesterday.

But when community members had attempted to set up a venue for celebrations on Satu

World Bank - Dangerous Rollback in Environmental, Social Protections

whit — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 02:59:14 +0100

New Framework Undermines President Kim’s Commitment to ‘No Dilution’

(Washington, DC) – The World Bank has released new draft safeguard policies that will vastly weaken protections for affected communities and the environment at the same time as the bank intends to finance more high-risk projects, 19 organizations said today.

Burma - Against Letpadaung: copper mining in Myanmar and the struggle for human rights

whit — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 06:45:04 +0100

Contention around a mine in Myanmar – especially police treatment of activists campaigning to close it – has grown into a challenge for the development of rule of law in that country.

The Letpadaung copper mine in the Sagaing Region of central Myanmar has become a major fault line in the struggle for human rights in that country.

India - Convention Against the Government's Attack on Tribal Peoples

whit — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 12:31:51 +0100

Joint Convention Against the NDA Government’s Attack on the Rights of Tribals

Organisations representing tribal communities from across India have joined hands to give a call for a national convention during the forthcoming Parliament sesson against the NDA government’s systematic attack on the rights of Adivasis.

UN urges Canada to probe mining abuses abroad

whit — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 06:47:20 +0100

Committee voices concern about ‘allegations of human rights abuses by Canadian companies operating abroad.’

A United Nations watchdog urged Canada on Thursday to investigate alleged human rights abuses by its mining companies abroad and launch an inquiry into the high number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

The U.N.

Statements of the Asia Indigenous Peoples: Eighth Session of EMRIP

whit — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 01:19:30 +0100

Statements of the Asia Indigenous Peoples: Eighth Session of Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Item 3 of the provisional agenda  

Follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, including the review of the mandate of the Expert Mechanism

Delivered by Jennifer Tauli Corpuz, Tebtebba Foundation

20-24 July 2015

Thank you Mr Chairperson,

The Asia Indigenous Peoples Caucus is pleased to provide its comments on this agenda item.

Posco puts $12 billion India plant on hold

whit — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:09:34 +0100

Posco, South Korea’s biggest steelmaker, has put on hold plans to build a steel plant in India after land acquisition and farmer protests stalled the $12 billion project for a decade.

The project in India’s eastern state of Odisha has been “tentatively postponed,” Chief Executive Officer Kwon Oh Joon said Wednesday.

Guatemalan Court Suspends Mining Operations in La Puya

whit — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 09:54:46 +0100

Local communities have been peacefully fighting against the mining project for the past three years.

Communities of La Puya, Guatemala, celebrated a major victory on Wednesday when a constitutional court suspended the mining license and operations of national company Exmingua, a subsidiary of U.S.

Canada - Why Does Canada Hate Indigenous Rights? One Word: Oil

whit — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:29:54 +0100

Why implementing Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Canada is essential – and why the government is refusing to do so, in spite of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Why does Canada hate Indigenous rights?

Or, more properly, why has the government campaigned so hard to subdue the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), even when it’s now enshrined in a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)?

The specific right to FPIC, as it is called by those who regularly deal with it, tells us a lot about where we are as an international

Militarization and murders stifle anti-mining movement in Guatemala

whit — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 10:13:59 +0100

The sweet smell of the pine forest covers the hillside, fifty miles east of Guatemala City. Two young farmers come around the bend, walking down the rocky unpaved road, machetes in hand. Down below, the small town of San Rafael las Flores is surrounded by a patchwork of agricultural crops, the mainstay of the regional economy.

The Escobal silver mine sits at the base of a hill just above San Rafael las Flores, located in a municipality with the same name in the southwestern Guatemalan department of Santa Rosa.

South Africa - Stop Xolobeni project to avoid another Marikana

whit — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 10:03:49 +0100

One cannot help but wonder how much longer the government will stand by as an observer to a war brewing up in Xolobeni on the Wild Coast?

The conflict tearing apart families, communities, clans and tribe is a sad one – and destined to go on for generations, perhaps forever, similar to the war of the cousins, Israel and Palestine.

Violence has already flared up and earlier this year five people, allegedly with direct financial links to the international mining company seeking to strip mine the dunes at Xolobeni for titanium, were interdicted from threatening or assaulting those oppo

Solidarity statement with Cambodian human rights defender Mr Ny Chakrya

whit — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 08:08:53 +0100

We, the undersigned civil society organizations from across Asia and the Pacific call on the government of Cambodia to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Mr Ny Chakrya, which are an attack on his lawful activities as a human rights defender.

Indonesia: Palm oil giant Wilmar resorts to dirty tricks

whit — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:27:54 +0100

World’s largest palm oil trading company, Wilmar International Ltd., under scrutiny as communities accuse its suppliers of harassment, deception and rights abuses.

Jakarta: Oil palm giant Wilmar International Ltd. (F34.SI / WLIL.SI) stands accused of resorting to ‘dirty tricks’ in its dealings with communities. The allegations come from community leaders and non-Governmental organisations who have tracked the company’s operations on the ground in Borneo, Sumatra, Uganda and Nigeria.

Canada faces questions from UN rights committee on mining industry

whit — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 09:15:15 +0100

OTTAWA — The federal government is sidestepping a UN panel’s request to explain how Canadian mining and resource companies deal with human rights complaints.

Tuesday was the Canadian government’s first opportunity to address the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva, which is conducting the first review in 10 years of Canada’s compliance to a major international treaty.

The committee, comprised of 18 experts, heard repeated concerns about Canada’s extractives industry, the treatment of aboriginals and anti-terrorism measures from two dozen groups, including the Canadian Human Rights Commi

UN Special Rapporteur on Legally Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights

whit — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 11:22:19 +0100

Opening Remarks by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Ms. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz

Opening remarks.

Burma - Locals Show Support for Arrested Power Station Protesters

whit — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 13:19:35 +0100

Anndin Village Tract locals went to Ye Town Police Station in large numbers to show solidarity with 26 locals who were arrested and taken in for investigation on 13 June before being charged under Article 4.

IMNA300601Locals who support the coal-fired power project in Anndin sent Ye Town Police a letter complaining about the behaviour of people opposed to the project.

Canada - Court ruling in the Hudbay-Guatemala lawsuit

whit — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 22:03:24 +0100

Ontario court orders Hudbay Minerals to disclose internal corporate documentation in Guatemalan human rights lawsuit

TORONTO – In a decision released today, the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto ordered Hudbay Minerals to disclose extensive internal corporate documentation to the Guatemalan plaintiffs who are suing Hudbay Minerals in Ontario for alleged murder, shooting and gang rapes that occurred at the company’s Fenix mine in Guatemala in 2007 and 2009.

Lawyer Cory Wanless, who argued the case for the in-depth documentary disclosure, said this was the first time a court in Canad

India: Child labour on rise around Tata Mundra plant, teenage girls being forced into sexual abuse

whit — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 14:21:03 +0100

Belonging to Mota Kandagra, one of the project-affected villages as a consequence of the Tatas’ ultra mega power plant at Mundra in Kutch district, Gujarat, Minal, 11, and Sonal, 13, remember the joyful lives they led just two years ago. They never knew what hunger was. They went to the local school, played with their friends and were loved and treated well.

OECD watchdog calls for reform of failing complaint system

whit — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 07:06:28 +0100

Paris – Allegations of corporate wrongdoing lodged under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises over the past 15 years almost never resulted in companies being held accountable, a new analysis of cases has found.

Remedy Remains Rare [http://oecdwatch.org/publications-en/Publication_4201] examines 250 complaints brought by communities, individuals and organizations under the national contact point (NCP) system, a grievance mechanism established by OECD governments in 2000.

Indonesia - AMAN reminds Jokowi about pledge to forest people

whit — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 10:43:24 +0100

An NGO group on indigenous people has urged the government to establish a rights task force that it had already promised.

The NGO, called the Alliance of Indigenous People (AMAN), which has a network of around 2,253 indigenous groups across Indonesia who mostly live inside or around forests, said that indigenous people could not wait any longer to have their rights protected after being ignored for more than 70 years since independence.

“I want to emphasize that this is not an ordinary case. This is not just about past treatment of the indigenous.

Peru - What is Peru’s biggest environmental conflict right now?

whit — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 09:29:30 +0100

José de Echave, from Lima-based NGO CooperAccion, talks about the proposed Tia Maria copper mine.

US company Newmont’s proposed Conga gold mine, perhaps, or the 40-odd year old oil concession that has devastated parts of Peru’s Amazon and is now up for renewal? The Chadin 2 dam on the River Maranon, scheduled to be built by Brazilian firm Odebrecht, or the expansion of the Camisea gas project? New legislation? Gold-mining in the Madre de Dios department? A trans-continental railway possibly financed by China?

None of the above.

Urgent Action: Mexican human rights defender face dire threats

whit — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 18:51:01 +0100

The lives of human rights defender Victor Andrés Cruz Chi and his family, from Colima, Mexico are under threat. They are being targeted for their work in support of the indigenous community of Zacualpan that has been resisting the presence of mining concessions on their land and for Victor’s persistant willingness to confront state collusion in human rights violations taking place. The following is a translation in English the online urgent action being circulated by the Mexican National Network of Human Rights Organizations for the Rights of All (REDTDT its initials in Spanish).

Was this indigenous leader killed because he fought to save Ecuador's land?

whit — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 11:55:14 +0100

José Isidro Tendetza Antún’s battered body was found in an unmarked grave and loved ones blame his death on his opposition to $1.4bn Chinese-backed mine

Dark clouds loom over the Tundayme bus station where José Isidro Tendetza Antún said goodbye to his family for the last time.

The moody skies above the Cordillera del Condor would have been a familiar sight to the indigenous leader as he set out on 28 November to join a protest meeting against a huge Chinese-backed mine being carved out of his ancestral homeland.

He never arrived.

Peaceful Anti-Mining Blockade Evicted in Guatemala

whit — Thu, 28 May 2015 20:49:29 +0100

The eviction comes a day before a presidential meeting and a year after a violent eviction against La Puya’s peaceful resistance.

The community of La Puya in central Guatemala, resisting the U.S.-owned El Tambor gold mine project for over three years, faced eviction Tuesday after at least 300 security forces arrived in the early morning forcing illegal displacement of the blockade, Prensa Libre reported.

Guatemala - Allegations of brutality highlighted at Hudbay shareholders' meeting

whit — Tue, 26 May 2015 09:25:49 +0100

Allegations of brutality highlighted by protest at Hudbay shareholders’ meeting

Angelica Choc confronted Hudbay Minerals at their shareholder meeting this morning as supporters of the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network rallied below.

She’s part of an 11-plaintiff suit against the corporation for alleged brutal attacks against Guatemala’s Indigenous Q’eqchi’ population in El Estor.

Choc says that during a community protest over forced evictions on September 27, 2009, her husband and community leader, Adolfo Ich, was surrounded, beaten, hacked with machetes and then shot to death by Hu

European Parliament defies lobbying to vote for strong conflict minerals regulation

whit — Thu, 21 May 2015 18:34:00 +0100

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have made history today by voting in favour of a strong and binding law to tackle the deadly trade in conflict minerals, said Amnesty International and Global Witness.

Today’s vote determines the position with which the European Parliament (EP) enters into negotiations with Member States and the Commission to find an agreement on the law.

“This is a historic moment.

Myanmar jails six activists who opposed copper mine: lawyer

whit — Sat, 16 May 2015 14:48:55 +0100

A Myanmar court sentenced six activists opposed to a controversial Chinese-backed copper mine to over four years in prison Friday, a lawyer in the case said.

The campaigners were arrested following December protests near the Chinese embassy in Yangon calling for the closure of the mine venture in the central town of Monywa, which has been dogged by complaints of land-grabbing and environmental damage.

“All six activists were sentenced to four years and four months imprisonment each,” lawyer Robert San Aung, who represented five of the activists, told AFP.

He said the court found them

Judge orders police to bring Tahoe Resources chairman Kevin McArthur to court

whit — Sat, 09 May 2015 20:37:13 +0100

The Guatemalan national police director has been instructed by a judge to bring Tahoe Resources founder and executive chairman Kevin McArthur to court on May 13 to testify about the criminalization of community leaders opposing the company’s Escobal silver mine.

A Guatemalan judge has instructed the director of the national police force to bring Tahoe Resources founder and executive chairman Kevin McArthur to court this month.

The court order, dated April 28, instructs the police to bring McArthur and Donald Paul Gray to court at 10am on May 13 so that they may testify in the trial o

Burma - Turquoise Hill must disclose all transactions related to Myanmar divestment

whit — Sun, 10 May 2015 20:51:21 +0100

Canadian mining corporation Turquoise Hill Resources (formerly called Ivanhoe Mines) should disclose all transactions related to the divestment of its interest in a mining project in Myanmar, which may have breached Canadian economic sanctions on Myanmar, Amnesty International said ahead of the company;s annual shareholder meeting in Vancouver today (8 May).

Ivanhoe Mines set up a secretive “Monywa Trust” to enable the company to divest its 50 per cent stake in the controversial Monywa copper mining project in central Myanmar, where abuses have included forced evictions and environmental

Peru - Tia Maria Copper Project: At the Negotiation Table Again

whit — Wed, 06 May 2015 20:45:37 +0100

Farmers and government officials are attempting to sit at the bargaining table again today in Arequipa, following the death of a second protester in Mollendo, in the most recent violent protests against Southern Copper’s Tia Maria mining project.

Those meeting for dialogue, led by the People’s Ombudsman, include the minister of Energy and Mines, Rosa María Ortiz, Arequipa’s governor, Yamila Osorio, the Agriculture minister, Juan Manuel Benites, and the mayors of the towns of Islay, Cocachacra and Punta Bonbon.

The strike began in early April, led by farmers from the towns along th

Goldcorp’s Marlin mine: a decade of operations and controversy in Guatemala

whit — Sun, 03 May 2015 19:34:55 +0100

It’s a warm, late-January day in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala. A dozen cattle range lazily on the sloped terrain; hundreds of corncobs lie drying under tarps in the hot afternoon sun.

Chickens and turkeys peck their way around Diadora Hernández’s heritage: the two hectares of land she inherited from her father. She has managed to expand the operation to three through years of hard work.

For many Guatemalans living in rural regions, land equals life, survival.

No More Goldcorp, No More Murders: a memorial and march to confront Goldcorp's AGM

whit — Tue, 05 May 2015 17:55:10 +0100

All photos by Allan Lissner.

Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee territory (Toronto, Canada) – On April 30, 2015 the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network and the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network joined with over 50 marchers in Toronto’s Financial District to greet Goldcorp head executives and shareholders outside of Goldcorp Inc’s Shareholders’ Meeting held at the Sheraton Hotel on Queen Street West.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination considers the report of Guatemala

whit — Thu, 14 May 2015 15:15:37 +0100

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its consideration of the combined fourteenth and fifteenth periodic report of Guatemala on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Introducing the report, Hugo Martinez, Presidential Commission for Coordinating Executive Policy on Human Rights, introducing the report on behalf of Antonio Arenales, President of the Presidential Commission, said that the 36-year-long internal armed conflict had not been an inter-ethnic conflict, and what had happ

Ghana - Chaos at Newmont Ahafo Mine

whit — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 10:53:24 +0100

Aggrieved residents at Damso and its environs, mining communities within the Ahafo catchment area of the Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, have threatened the lives of the expatriate workers, if the multi-national mining company failed to re-locate them.

The more than 500 residents at Botokrom, Agyamankrom, Hohorase, Asumikrom, Amadukrom and Krobeakrom, had therefore, given the mine a two-week ultimatum to do the re-settlement or face their anger.

According to the residents, a tailing dam constructed in the area by the mining company had poisoned the water system in the area, which had led t

A Legal Lifeline for Communities Threatened by Resource Development Projects

whit — Fri, 15 May 2015 23:39:13 +0100

Rising global demand for natural resources has made protection of community lands an urgent priority, particularly in countries with little or no legal protection for community land rights. There are millions whose lands and environments are harmed by large-scale resource development.

Consider the villagers of Koh Kong province, Cambodia, where thousands of people have been—and continue to be—forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands to make way for huge plantations. The Cambodian government illegally leased the villagers’ farmlands and ordered their crops and homes demolished.

OZ Minerals Cambodia bribery investigation ongoing

whit — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 19:15:25 +0100

The Australian Federal Police has been investigating Australian mining firm OZ Minerals since September over claims it engaged in bribery in Cambodia in 2009, according to an annual report from the firm released on April 2.

The case relates to OZ Minerals’ former gold exploration venture at Okvau in Mondolkiri, where, in 2011, it is alleged the mining firm paid more than $1 million to three women on the board of its Cambodian joint-venture partner, Shin Ha, when it bought the company in 2009.

The women purportedly had highly placed relatives in the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

PNG - UN told of mining industry human rights violations in Pacific region

whit — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 21:23:57 +0100

Pacific people experiencing cultural genocide at the hands of the extractive industries

Call for UN Investigation into mechanisms to hold businesses, multi-nationals and extractive industries accountable for not only human rights violations but also criminal acts in Indigenous lands and against Indigenous Peoples

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues 14th Session: Statement by Akali Tange Association and endorsed by the Pacific Caucus

We would like to begin our statement in addressing the fact that while we here at the United Nations talk of human rights violations in

Peru - One killed at protests against Tia Maria copper project in Peru

whit — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:47:03 +0100

One person was killed and 12 others seriously injured Wednesday in Peru as police opened fire on a group of farmers protesting against Southern Copper’s $1.4 billion Tia Maria copper project.

The victim, identified as 61-year-old Victoriano Huayta, died at the local hospital after receiving several bullet fragments in the lower abdomen, local paper El Popular reports.

For years farmers, anti-mining activists and local leaders have opposed the project, which they argue will pollute key waterways for Arequipa, the southern state where the Tia Maria mine will be built.

In response, Sou

150,000 Stand With Peruvian Woman in Fight Against World’s Largest Gold Mine

whit — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 10:46:45 +0100

Community activists from Cajamarca, Peru appeared at the annual shareholders’ meeting of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation this week to deliver a petition bearing 150,000 signatures protesting the company’s practices in the region, and demanded that it live up to its own goals for human rights and sustainability.

Newmont is majority owner of the massive Peruvian gold mine Yanacocha, the second largest gold mine in the world, and its planned Conga gold and copper mine nearby would be even larger, requiring a farming community to move and the four lakes they rely on for irrigation

Guatemala: Member of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace in San Rafael Las Flores Detained

whit — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 11:06:11 +0100

Last night at approximately 7:30pm, Roberto de Jesus Pivaral, founding member and part of the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa, was detained by members of the Guatemalan Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office at his home. According to his family, a judge’s order for his capture was not presented before he was taken to the court house in San Rafael Las Flores. The Public Prosecutor’s twitter page states that Mr.

Global Witness report shows increased killings of environmental activists, with indigenous communities hardest hit

whit — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 09:44:38 +0100

New report shines spotlight on Honduras – the most dangerous country to be an environmental defender

Killings of land and environmental activists in 2014 reached an average of more than two a week, a new Global Witness report reveals – an increase of 20% from 2013. How Many More?

Investigate Rio Tinto's role in potential Myanmar sanctions busting

whit — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 09:03:03 +0100

The UK Government must investigate the British-Australian mining corporation Rio Tinto over a possible breach of EU economic sanctions on Myanmar, Amnesty International said ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting in London today (16 April).

Rio Tinto was instrumental in the setting up of the secretive ‘Monywa Trust’ which enabled Canadian-based Ivanhoe Mines (now Turquoise Hill Resources) to divest its stake in the controversial Monywa copper mine project in central Myanmar, where abuses have included forced evictions and extreme pollution.

Indigenous Controlled Mining Under Fire in Colombia

whit — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 09:11:58 +0100

At 8pm Tuesday April 7, Fernando Salazar Calvo, human rights defender and community member of the Resguardo Indígena Cañamomo Lomaprieta (Caldas) in Colombia, was gunned down brutally outside his home.

A long time member of the Resguardo’s Ancestral Miners’ Association (ASOMICARS), 52-year old Fernando Salazar played a key role as a spokesperson for implementing the Traditional Authorities’ rules and regulations for ancestral mining taking place within Resguardo Territory.

While the facts are not yet clear on why Salazar was killed, several members of ASOMICARS and the Cabildo, the h

Canada mining firm compensates Papua New Guinea women after alleged rapes

whit — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 12:19:55 +0100

Watchdog reported pattern of extreme sexual violence by security workers

11 tribal women said a previous ‘remedy framework’ for 137 women fell short

A Canada-based gold mining company is paying compensation to a group of tribal women and girls who allege they were assaulted and raped by police and security guards at the company’s mine in Papua New Guinea.

The 11 women, who were aged between 14 and in their 80s when the alleged crimes took place, are among 137 local Enga women and girls who had previously been compensated by Barrick Gold Corporation, after allegations of sexual

Cambodia: Indigenous rights ‘denied’

whit — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 14:39:48 +0100

Despite Cambodia’s indigenous peoples being legally recognised and protected under the country’s Forestry and Land Laws, limited implementation combined with a lack of coordination have resulted in many indigenous communities being denied their land and legal rights, according to a report released this month by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The German think tank says that land concessions and economic development have trampled efforts by the country’s indigenous communities to secure customary lands.

“Indigenous peoples are estimated to be managing more than 4 million hectares

Lip-Service But Little Action on U.N. Business and Human Rights Principles in Latin America

whit — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 18:07:40 +0000

MEXICO CITY (IPS) – “I would tell institutions and companies that are aware of the enormous damage they do to the soil, plants and the environment, to respect the decisions of the people. They are attacking life and health,” complained Taurino Rincón, an indigenous Mexican.

Rincón belongs to the Nahua people and is a member of the Indigenous Council for the Defence of the Territory of Zacualpan, a community in the west of the country.

Are Mining Interests Behind Western Australian Remote Aboriginal Community Closures?

whit — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 21:05:36 +0000

Yesterday, 18,000 people turned out at rallies across Australia in protest of the Western Australian government’s proposal to close up to 150 remote Aboriginal communities. The move will see municipal and essential services provided by the government cut. Premier Colin Barnett announced the closures in November last year, claiming many of these communities are economically unviable.

On March 1, the Matagarup Aboriginal Refugee Camp was set up on Heirisson Island in Perth, anticipating the looming refugee crisis that will be caused by the remote community closures.

Federal Court Orders Newmont Mining to Turn Over Evidence to Peruvian Wounded in Protest

whit — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:36:11 +0000

New human rights tool will shed light on the events leading to the paralysis of Peruvian Farmer during repression of 2011 protest

Denver, CO: On Monday, a federal court ordered Colorado-based Newmont Mining Corporation to turn over evidence relating to police repression of protestors against Newmont’s proposed Conga mine in northern Peru. EarthRights International (ERI) filed the request in 2014 on behalf of Elmer Eduardo Campos Álvarez, a 33-year-old Peruvian farmer. Mr.

African human rights body warns the World Bank on proposals

whit — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:15:43 +0000

African human rights body warns the World Bank on proposals to reverse decades of advancement in protection of indigenous peoples’ rights

LONDON – In February 2015, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights met in Banjul, The Gambia, for its 17th Extra-Ordinary Session, to deal with critical matters pending since the cancellation and delay of previous sessions due to the spread of Ebola during 2014.

One critical matter in front of the Commission was the new environmental and social safeguards being proposed by the World Bank and the Commission was very clear in its conce

PNG: Porgera Gold Mine Landowners claim $US4b from Barrick

whit — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 15:39:49 +0000

Barrick Niugini Limited’s intention to sell its 95% shares in the Porgera mine was a commercial decision and there was no need for landowners to know.

If Barrick only sold its shares in Porgera mine, the landowners would have been informed.

India - ‘Whatever they do, project dead, we keep our land’

whit — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 12:10:48 +0000

Orissa – The roads leading to Dhinkia village in Jagatsinghpur are no longer barricaded. An outsider no longer arouses suspicion of being a “Posco agent” or “government man”, drums are no longer beaten, conches no longer blown, at the sight of “land acquisition agents”. There is in fact no graffiti exhorting Posco to leave the area.

This seaside village was once the epicentre of the agitation against South Korean steelmaker Posco’s proposed Rs 5,100-crore, 8-mn-tonne plant.

Canada: Indigenous activists opposing Energy East don’t fear proposed anti-terror bill

whit — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 10:40:55 +0000

HALIFAX—Indigenous grassroots leaders say the Harper government’s anti-terrorism Bill C-51 won’t stop their opposition to the Energy East pipeline.

The proposed bill would give more power to law enforcement authorities and Canada’s spy agency to counter perceived terrorism threats.

Critics have raised concerns over aspects of the bill, including allowing police to execute “preventative” arrests if authorities suspect a terrorist plot “may be carried out.” Critics also argue that the bill, by criminalizing the promotion of terrorism, threatens free speech.

The bill al

Venezuela: Yanomami march for health and justice, while illegal mines in Caura reach flashpoint

whit — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 14:54:28 +0000

Yanomami from their organization, Horonami, marched through the regional capital in the Venezuelan Amazon on 20th February demanding better health-care and respect for their culture and dignity. Noting the problems they suffer from introduced diseases and lack of consistent health care, they issued a statement demanding a roundtable to address their problems.

Peru: One Peruvian Woman Is Standing Up To A Gold-Mining Goliath

whit — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 09:53:44 +0000

(This story was reported with Roxana Olivera, a Toronto-based investigative journalist living in Peru)

SOROCHUCO, Peru — On a remote farm deep in the Peruvian Andes, in a region where sheep outnumber people by a comfortable margin, a very small woman is foiling the plans of one of the biggest mining companies in the world.

Máxima Acuña, who stands just over 5 feet tall — if one includes in the measurement the traditional wide-brimmed hat she almost always wears — has withstood threats, beatings and legal challenges in her improbable bid to hang on to what she declares is her propert

South Africa - Why mining industry leaders should drive to Woodstock this week

whit — Fri, 13 Feb 2015 09:51:49 +0000

The annual Investing in African Mining Indaba is once again under way at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The global system for holding corporations to account is in need of serious reform

whit — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 10:01:51 +0000

National Contact Points were supposed to be a global method of holding corporations responsible for their behaviour. But do they do the job?

A British company plans to build a huge coal mine, stating in its plans that it says will displace more than 40,000 people. It will destroy over 14,000 acres of land in Bangladesh’s most fertile agricultural region Phulbari in the north west, where most people have land-based livelihoods. Unsurprisingly, local people oppose the plans to destroy the landscape and homes.

Out-of-Court Settlement Good for Some Tanzanian Villagers - But Many Others Hindered from Participation by Barrick's Grievance

whit — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 09:55:54 +0000

Oxford (UK) and Ottawa – Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) and MiningWatch Canada (MiningWatch) recognise the significance of the settlement, announced on Friday 6 February 2015, of claims brought by Tanzanian villagers alleging that African Barrick Gold (now Acacia Mining) and its subsidiary were liable, through complicity, for killing and injuring of locals at the North Mara mine by police guarding the mine. The claims, brought by leading law firm Leigh Day, were denied by the companies.

Myanmar: Canadian mining company colluding in serious abuses and illegality

whit — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 16:11:29 +0000

Canadian company Ivanhoe Mines Limited and Chinese mining interests have profited from, and in some cases colluded with the Myanmar authorities in serious human rights abuses and illegal activity around the Monywa copper mine complex, which includes the notorious Letpadaung mine, Amnesty International said in a report released today.

Open for Business? Corporate Crime and Abuses at Myanmar Copper Mine describes how large-scale forced evictions and serious pollution linked to the mine have destroyed livelihoods and exposed thousands of people to health risks.

Indonesia: Pulpwood company may be denying Sumatran community rights to their land

whit — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 09:45:05 +0000

For over a decade, a conflict has been brewing between the local community of Senyerang in Sumatra, Indonesia, and a major pulpwood plantation company, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), according to NGOs operating in the area.

Ethiopia: human rights groups criticise UK-funded development programme

whit — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 09:51:43 +0000

Leaked World Bank report rejects claims from the Bank’s management that no link existed between their programme and villagisation

A major UK- and World Bank-funded development programme in Ethiopia may have contributed to the violent resettlement of a minority ethnic group, a leaked report reveals.

The UK’s Department for International Development was the primary funder of a World Bank-run development project aimed at improving health, education and public services in Ethiopia, contributing more than £388m of UK taxpayer funds to the project.

However, a scathing draft report of t

Burma: Human Rights Commission Faults Police Over Copper Mine Shooting

whit — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 15:54:40 +0000

RANGOON — Burma’s National Human Rights Commission has said that the recent killing of a farmer at the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Division was the result of mistakes made by the police when they tried to suppress a protest against the project.

In a statement published in the Burmese state-owned media on Thursday, the commission said police had failed to follow security procedures for quelling a protest on Dec.

Guatemala - Poor Guatemalans Are Taking On North American Mining Companies

whit — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:53:25 +0000

... and Have the Bullet Wounds to Prove It

As nonviolent protests have spread throughout the country, the right-wing government and the mines’ security operations have responded with force.

A bullet is lodged near Yolanda Oquelí’s liver. It’s been there since June 13, 2012, when two masked men on a motorcycle fired a barrage of bullets into her car as she drove home on a dusty mountain road after attending a protest with friends and neighbors. A ball of hot lead brushed her stomach and barely missed her spine.

Eye on Ecuador: Racking Up the China Debt and Paying It Forward with Oil

whit — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 15:45:51 +0000

Ecuador’s President Correa was well-rewarded for his trip last week to China, but this could have grave impacts for the Amazon and the people who live there. On Wednesday, Beijing agreed to lend Ecuador $7.53 billion to help the heavily oil-dependent economy cope with the recent drop in global crude prices. This latest sum – the largest China has ever lent Ecuador – brings Chinese financing to Ecuador to nearly $25 billion, over a quarter of the nation’s GDP.

Robert Friedland's Mining Showdown in South Africa

whit — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 17:07:17 +0000

MOKOPANE, SOUTH AFRICA – The two men took the cash from an envelope, counted it carefully and spread it on the table in front of Raesetsa Makgabo in her village home.

West Papua: Three Killed at US Giant Freeport's Indonesia Mine

whit — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 10:23:06 +0000

Three security personnel were found dead with bullet and machete wounds at a US-owned Freeport-McMoRan copper and gold mine in eastern Indonesia, local police said Friday.

The three — one security employee and two police officers on duty at the mine — were on patrol at the huge Grasberg complex in Papua province before they were found dead late Thursday.

Police found deep gashes on the three bodies as well as bullet wounds on one of them, Papua police spokesman Patrick Renwarin said.

“We still don’t know the cause of the deaths yet as we are still waiting for the full report,” Renwa

Peru: Chota, Manuin, Chaupe and Buendía… notable characters of 2014

whit — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:28:49 +0000

- A tribute to four consistent and committed indigenous leaders in Peru.

The year 2014 comes to an end and the personalities of Edwin Chota, Máxima Chaupe, Santiago Manuin and Ruth Buendia stand out for impeccable trajectory in the public eye and advocacy in favor of their peoples.

While it may seem unfair to highlight individuality, behind these names are noble and social causes that result from collective action.

Police fire on Myanmar protesters, one dead, 20 hurt: reports

whit — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 14:11:37 +0000

YANGON – Myanmar police fired on protesters near a mine at the center of a long-running land dispute on Monday, killing one person and wounding 20 others, media reports said, as the China-linked company announced plans to expand the project.

A Myanmar television station and website, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), said that one person was killed during the protest near the Letpadaung copper mine in central Myanmar.

Khin San Hlaing, a parliamentarian with the opposition National League for Democracy, cited witnesses as saying a woman died after being struck in the head by a bullet.

Canada: Federal court hands win to First Nations over Canadian gov't re contentious omnibus bills

whit — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:09:24 +0000

Canada’s federal government should have consulted with First Nations before passing two omnibus budget bills that helped spark the widespread 2012 “Idle No More” protests, a judge has ruled.

The C-38 and C-45 bills, passed into law in June and December 2012, removed federal environmental oversight on most of the lakes, streams and rivers located in the Mikisew Cree First Nation’s traditional territory in northeastern Alberta.

The group’s victory, FortMcMurraytoday.com reports, will not affect the legislation already in effect, but it will require all governments to consult clos

World Bank Makes Killing Indigenous Peoples More Profitable

whit — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 12:52:06 +0000

The World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework draft neglects mentions Indigenous rights

Washington, D.C. – Not only does the World Bank’s new Environment and Social Framework (ESF) draft incentivize governments to ignore Indigenous peoples, it strategically neglects Indigenous and human rights of Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) and protection from forced evictions.

Ecuador: José's murder is more blood on Canada's hands

whit — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:40:01 +0000

José Tendetza should have been in Lima, Peru last week at the climate change talks as one of the powerful Indigenous voices speaking about the destruction that the mining and energy agenda of countries like Canada is bringing upon his and many other communities in the Global South.

José Tendetza was a Shuar indigenous community leader from Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador who refused to give up his land for the illegal gold and copper Mirador project currently under construction.

Tanzania: Group raises alarm over state harrassment of land activists

whit — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:01:29 +0000

Dar es Salaam.

Ecuador: Anti-mining activist killed on eve of Lima meetings

whit — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 10:33:39 +0000

On December 3, the body of anti-mining activist José Isidro Tendetza Antún was identifed. José Isidro was a member of the Shuar community of de Yanúa, the district of El Pangui, province of Zamora. He had disappeared on November 28 on his way to an Assembly convened by the Shuar Association of Bomboíza, where they were to discuss themes related to mining exploitation in the province.

Peru: Ombudsman Urges Peru's Congress to Recognize Indigenous Rights

whit — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 17:14:35 +0000

Peru’s government is urged to recognize indigenous communities’ rights to free, prior, and informed consent.

As Peru still does not guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples on their ancestral lands, the country’s Ombudsman Eduardo Vega asked the Congress to correct this Wednesday.

Vega stated that the legislators needed to debate a reform guaranteeing rights recognized by International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169, signed by Peru in 1994.

Is Peru’s President Humala serious about Indigenous Peoples’ rights?

whit — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 19:32:59 +0000

In September 2014, Peru and Norway signed an agreement to reduce deforestation in Peru.

Indigenous position presented to UN Forum on Business and Human Rights

whit — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 18:09:23 +0000

[NB – PIPLinks is a member of ENIP]

Geneva – Despite being most vulnerable to adverse human rights impact of business operations on their land, indigenous peoples are among those facing the greatest obstacles for accessing judicial and non-judicial remedy.

On December 1, CAOI, ENIP and AIPP hosted a panel discussion on Indigenous peoples and access to justice in the context of business operation.

Inter-ethnic conflict racks DRC’s mining heartland

whit — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 19:16:04 +0000

MUKONDO, Democratic Republic of Congo – Nsange’s troubles began with an affair. Pygmy residents of the village in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo caught a Bantu man in bed with a married pygmy woman last year.

Retribution was swift: a group of pygmies beat the Bantu to death.

The killing sparked a vicious series of reprisals in this corner of mineral-rich Katanga province. Each side scrambled to form militias, armed with machetes and bows and arrows, that unleashed an orgy of execution, pillage and rape.

Hundreds of its pygmy residents fled.

PNG - Rape Survivors Offered Business Remedy by Barrick Gold in Exchange for Waiving Legal Rights

whit — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 18:28:20 +0000

Survivors of Rape by Barrick Gold Security Guards Offered “Business Grants” and “Training” in Exchange for Waiving Legal Rights

Human rights advocates denounce Barrick’s reparations process in Papua New Guinea as inconsistent with international law and inadequate to remedy brutal rapes

Washington DC and Porgera, Papua New Guinea — Approximately 200 women who survived brutal rapes by Barrick Gold’s security guards in Papua New Guinea were asked to waive their legal rights in exchange for small “business grants” and “business training,” a reparations process that huma

UK urges GCM Resources to assess human rights impact of Bangladesh coal mine

whit — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:59:18 +0000

The UK government has urged British company GCM Resources to assess how its planned coal mine in Bangladesh would affect the human rights of local people, and has condemned the company for breaching international guidelines on ethical corporate behaviour.

Canada: Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Stands in Solidarity with Ayllu of Peru

whit — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:15:05 +0000

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Stands in Solidarity with Ayllu of Uchucarrco, Peru against Human Rights Abuses of Hudbay Minerals

Pukatawagan, Manitoba: Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) represents the sovereign nation of the Missinippi Nehethowak, a Cree word meaning “big river people”. We are Woodland-Stoney Cree and many still speak Cree as our first language. Our extensive territory comprises nearly 1/8 of northern Manitoba and includes our traditional, treaty, trapping and reserve lands.

Indonesia: Recognizing Indigenous Rights

whit — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:00:49 +0000

Indonesia’s first-ever national inquiry delves into dozens of land disputes involving indigenous peoples and customary forest rights. The target: new President Joko Widodo.

The Pagu woman raised her voice in the presence of officials from the mining company that had caused her so much grief.

To cement her tribe’s territorial claim, she invoked centuries-old place names and a landmark Constitutional Court ruling from last year.

“This is our land, not the state’s land!” Afrida Erna Ngato hollered in the hearing room in Ambon, Maluku.

Peru exploiting own failures to demarcate indigenous territory

whit — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:53:00 +0000

Peru is facing a wave of environmental conflicts as extractive industries expand into land whose ownership remains legally unclear and a new report by Global Witness highlights how this process will become potentially bloodier through laws recently passed in Lima.

The report “Peru’s Deadly Environment” [http://www.globalwitness.org/perudeadlyenvironment/] states that 57 environmental defenders have been killed since 2002 with 60% of these occurring in the last four years, and that Indigenous Peoples have been among the most exposed to the new violence.

Canadian Government Acknowledges Power to Act on Extractive Companies, Declines to Do So

whit — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:57:24 +0000

Canada’s CSR Strategy for Extractives 2.0 – Government Acknowledges Power to Act, Declines to Do So

(Ottawa) Today the Government of Canada released its revised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy for extractive companies operating overseas, finally recognising its power to withdraw the substantial support that it provides such companies in order to make them accountable, but declining to apply that power in any meaningful way.

Coming five years after the 2009 launch of the Government’s initial CSR strategy, the updated policy leans heavily on a revised role for the CSR

Do no harm, Canada

whit — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 09:17:33 +0000

The Inter American Human Rights Commission — an independent office of the Organization of American States — has added its voice to a growing list of human rights bodies calling on Canada to prevent mining abuses and hold Canadian companies and state agencies responsible to account.

In a statement released summarizing dozens of hearings heard in late October, the Commission specifically urged Canada — as home to hundreds of mining companies with mining projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean — to “prevent the multiple human rights violations that can result” from their advanc

Kenya - Court halts search for oil in Wajir

whit — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:55:53 +0000

A judge has stopped oil exploration in parts of Wajir County until a case by 22 residents is heard and determined.

The residents of Badada Lagbogol Division in Wajir West Constituency moved to court claiming that should the exploration start as planned, they would be displaced.

While accusing Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir of signing an agreement with three oil exploration firms without public participation, they argued that their nomadic way of life would be affected.

Their lawyer Mohammed Bulle Ahmed said the decision was illegal and that the project posed a health risk to

Peruvian Community Denounces HudBay Minerals for Violations over Constancia Project

whit — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 08:54:04 +0000

Community Members, Who Denounce Non-compliance by Hudbay Minerals, Advance towards the Constancia Mine

During the morning hours of November 10, local residents from Uchucarcco, in the district of Chamaca, province of Chumbivilcas, in the region of Cusco, mobilized near the Constancia mining project to protest the company’s sustained failure to make good on commitments with the local population. According to local media, a group of residents crossed the company’s security fence.

Mexico - Police Arrest Eight Indigenous People for Defending Communal Forest

whit — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 16:53:28 +0000

Approximately 600 state riot police invaded the territory of the indigenous community of San Francisco Xochicuautla, arresting eight people committed to the defense of the ancestral Otomí-Mexica forest.

Eight Ñatho (Otomi) indigenous people were arrested while peacefully blocking the way of a bulldozer belonging to the Autovan company that is destroying communal forest land to build a super highway from the Toluca Airport to Naucalpan in the central State of Mexico.

A statement issued by the Indigenous Peoples’ Front in Defense of Mother Earth charges that community members were arb

Cambodia’s Environment: Good News in Areng Valley?

whit — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 10:14:13 +0000

Can Cambodia’s nascent environmental movement save the pristine Areng Valley from a Chinese dam?

The unfolding story of local resistance in the Areng Valley starts with an all-too-familiar predicament: for the sake of “national development” and economic progress, the Cambodian government has steadfastly pursued plans – without prior public consultation – to build a Chinese-backed hydropower dam in an area known for its rich biodiversity and indigenous communities.

But contrary to how one might normally expect such a story to transpire, there is an important twist in this on

Canada - State Surveillance of an Indigenous Rights Campaigner

whit — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:47:00 +0000

The Wars At Home: What State Surveillance of an Indigenous Rights Campaigner Tells Us About Real Risk in Canada

Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be dismissed as routine monitoring.

Sarawak villagers’ dam blockade removed again, as heavy machinery move in

whit — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:39:24 +0000

The year-long blockade by native villagers who are against the proposed Baram hydroelectric dam in Sarawak ended today with forestry officers, backed by armed policemen, removing the barricades in place.

This was the third time that the authorities have removed the logs and fencing which the anti-dam natives had put up across the road near Long Kesseh leading to the dam site.

No violence was reported and Peter Kallang, chairman of the non-governmental organisation Save Sarawak Rivers, said the forest concessionaire Autorich Sdn Bhd and its contractor M M Golden (M) Sdn Bhd have already m

Urgent Action: Mexico - Concerns for the safety and security of human rights defenders opposing mining activities in the stat

whit — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 18:28:15 +0000

TAKE ACTION HERE: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/27554/action

Over the past year, environmental and indigenous rights organisations in the municipality of Comala, Colima State, Mexico, have been facing continuous threats, attacks, stigmatisation and criminalisation as a result of their ongoing opposition to a mining concession that has been granted in the Indigenous Nahua community of Zacualpan.

This concession as of yet does not have an environmental impact study or other permits.

Fossil fuel divestment campaign targets UCL and BHP Billiton

whit — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 07:52:57 +0000

University College London under fire for sustainability institute funded by mining giant BHP Billiton, which faces protests at its London AGM

The fast-growing campaign to persuade investors to dump fossil fuel stocks has set its sights on a twin target of the world’s biggest mining company and one of the globe’s best universities.

The mining giant BHP Billiton will face protests at its AGM in London on Thursday over its £6m association with University College London (UCL) and the effects of its activities around the world.

The fossil fuel divestment campaign began in the US, wher