The Canadian-backed General Mining Law and the criminalization of the Guapinol water defenders in Tocoa, Honduras

The families of the Guapinol water defenders wait for justice outside the courthouse in Tocoa, Honduras. Photo by Radio Progreso.

The criminalization of the Guapinol water defenders in Tocoa, Honduras can be related back to the Canadian-backed General Mining Law.

MiningWatch Canada has stated: “The General Mining Law was developed with technical assistance paid for with Canadian overseas development aid. Its passage in 2013 lifted a seven-year moratorium on any new mining projects.”

It has also noted: “This law was developed and passed with strong diplomatic support from the Canadian embassy, and with contributions from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the former Canadian International Development Agency.”

Among the concerns expressed by Honduran groups including PBI-Honduras accompanied CEHPRODEC: “The law fails to ensure the protection of natural areas and water sources vital for human consumption and other uses health” and “imposes limits on citizen participation and contradicts provisions for environmental conservation by prohibiting areas free of mining from being created for any length of time.”

The General Mining Law was approved on January 23, 2013.

By April 2013, Emco Mining (now Inversiones Los Pinares) requested two mining concessions in the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras Mejía National Park.

On December 16, 2013, the Honduran Congress cut 217 hectares from the core zone of the park from which construction was prohibited. On January 28, 2014, the first licence was granted to Emco Mining for their planned open-pit iron oxide mine.

By 2017 the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Public and Common Goods had been created and called for public consultations so that community members could decide whether they wanted a mine in their area.

Then in March 2018, the company began building an access road to the planned mine site and community members reported that the Guapinol River, a vital source of drinking water for them, had become muddied.

By August 1, 2018, the community established an encampment that blocked the construction of the access road.

Then on October 27, 2018, more than 1,500 police officers and military personnel began the forceful expulsion of the protest camp from the road worksite.

The criminalization and judicialization of 31 Guapinol water defenders that we continue to see to this day followed from this.

On January 20, 2019, PBI-Honduras observed the Municipal Summit for Water and Life that was organized by the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods in Tocoa. The 2,000 people from 24 communities gathered at that Municipal Summit declared their opposition to the Inversiones Los Pinares mine.

On December 18, 2020, eight criminalized Guapinol water defenders were in court regarding the pre-trial detention measures against them (seven have been held in jail since September 1, 2019, an eighth since December 8, 2018).

On December 19, 2020 the judge ruled that they would remain in jail.

PBI-Canada continues to watch with great concern the criminalization and judicialization of the Guapinol water defenders.

PBI-Honduras observed the Municipal Summit for Water and Life in January 2019 that affirmed the rejection of the Inversiones Los Pinares mine.