Central and South America

Indigenous rights ignored

whit — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:07:58 +0000

ONE event on the sidelines of the climate talks in Poland dealt with the negative effects of the proposed forestry solution to climate change called Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

Victor Hugo Vela told of the problems faced by the Chiquotano tribe in Bolivia with the controversial Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project.

Into its 11th year, the project is one of the earliest carbon sequestration scheme initiated by The Nature Conservancy with the government of Bolivia .

Why They Kill the Awá

johnacuna — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:40:54 +0000

It is overcome by pain and sadness that we write these lines. We write from the shared rage we feel towards this criminal act, apparently committed by the FARC, whom we condemn for these irreversible horrors and the shedding of innocent blood.

As we write, the Colombian Minister of Defense, Juan Manuel Santos, is arriving in the Department of Nariño to conduct the military operations that constitute the government’s response to the massacres and terror these indigenous communities are now facing.

33 Guatemalan Municipalities Give Thumbs Down to Mining

Kailash — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:22:47 +0000

GUATEMALA CITY – The 500,000 residents of 33 municipalities in western Guatemala expressed their opposition on Tuesday to the possible granting of mining licenses in their communities. The position of the area’s overwhelmingly Indian population was conveyed by the Council of the Peoples of the West, which includes communities in the provinces of Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Totonicapan, Solola, Quiche and Huehuetenango.

In the community referendums conducted, residents said “No” overwhelmingly to mining projects, council members Milton Santos and Mario Lopez said in a press conference.

Peru Mining Conflicts Grow Critical-Government, Mining Companies, Donors and Civil Society Must Take Action, says Oxfam

Kailash — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:02:27 +0000

Washington, DC – Peru may face a crisis that could hinder the long term viability of the nation’s mining industry, says international aid agency Oxfam America. The Peruvian government, the mining industry, international donors and civil society must act quickly to help the country break the current cycle of conflict and ensure that mining helps reduce poverty and contributes to Peru’s development.

Since 2006, Peru has seen an impressive annual economic growth rate of more than six percent.

Guatemalans Resist Mega-Mines, Hydropower Dams

Kailash — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:08:27 +0000

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (ENS) – Amidst the growing controversy surrounding foreign-controlled resource extraction and mega-development projects in Guatemala, populist leader Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, together with a group of community leaders, is demanding a two-year moratorium on the granting of mining concessions by the Guatemalan government.

In the municipal capital of San Marcos in northwest Guatemala, Ramazzini, with several hundred of his supporters, took to the streets last Tuesday to call on Congress for a two-year halt to the sale of mineral rights to international companies.

Canadian Mining Firm Financed Violence in Ecuador: Lawsuit

Kailash — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:17:17 +0000

“Financing being raised in Canada is travelling across borders to do harm,” said lawyer Murray Klippenstein by phone from his office in Toronto. “We want to find out if our legal system can respond to this.”

Klippenstein is perhaps best known for his representation of the estate and family of native activist Dudley George, who was shot and killed by police in Ipperwash Provincial Park in Ontario in 1995.

Urgent Action: Accion Ecologica Closed by the Government

Kailash — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:42:55 +0000

Urgent Action: Accion Ecologica Closed by the Government

We need your support! In a clear act of censorship, the Ecuadorian government has closed down the NGO Accion Ecológica.

On-going Concerns With Goldcorp's Human Rights "Assessment" in Guatemala

Kailash — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:28:21 +0100

Robert Walker, Vice President Sustainability, The Ethical Funds Company; Nadime Viel Lamare, The First Swedish National Pension Fund; Arne Lööw, The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund; Peter Chapman, Executive Director, SHARE; Helen Regnell, Research Director, GES Investment Services; John Gordon, National President, Public Service Alliance of Canada

Dear All,

RE: Ongoing Concerns with the Goldcorp Human Rights Impact Assessment

Thank you for your e-mail of March 16, 2009 with attached the revised HRIA objective and On Common Ground’s Statement on Ethical Principles.

We are

Guiana Shield indigenous leaders discussing Amazon Basin protection

whit — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:29:58 +0100

DELEGATES to the Guiana Shield Regional Meeting of Indigenous Leaders are continuing discussions, begun Monday at Regency Suites Hotel in Hadfield Street, Georgetown, on the critical importance of the Amazon Basin.

Addressing the opening of the five-day deliberations, Mr. Trevor Stevenson, Executive Co-Director of Amazon Alliance, pointed out that the sustainability of the Amazon is directly linked to the survival of its indigenous communities.

“The Amazon is not just a forest.

Canada goldmine worries grow

Kailash — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:30:10 +0100

The withdrawal of a key player from a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of a gold mining operation in Guatemala is causing concern among ethical investors of Goldcorp, one of the largest gold mining companies in the world.

The HRIA, paid for by the Canadian company, was set up last year in response to growing worries among ethical investors that Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine was creating tension among Mayan Indian communities in the western highlands of Guatemala.

Goldcorp is operating in a country that was torn by decades of civil war.