Home Blog Page 101

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Chinautla Multi-Sector as they peacefully resist illegal sand extraction and river pollution

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Guatemala has posted: “#PBI accompanies Chinautla Multi-Sector. Today we visited members at their planton [protest site] and they updated us on their struggle, challenges, progress and upcoming activities.”

The situation in Chinautla

This past January, Prensa Comunitaria reported:

“Santa Cruz Chinautla and its authorities maintain a peaceful resistance against the La Primavera and Piedrinera San Luis sand mines, which have been operating illegally with expired licenses since 2022, and have not obtained an extension to operate.

These companies have maintained the industrial extraction that has generated environmental pollution of the river that bears the same name of the community (from where the potters extract the mud for their pottery crafts), where it has been reported that they discard construction material, garbage and earth, due to agreements between the municipality and some neighbors with transporters. In addition, roads have deteriorated due to the use of heavy transport, causing landslides and cracked homes.

In addition, recently, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred) has reported that the extraction of white sand in the territory has caused landslides and several families in the community have lost fragments of their homes due to this.”

PBI-Guatemala has also explained:

“The region has been a sand mining area for decades, but it was in 1995 that large-scale sand extraction began with heavy machinery, an activity that had a strong social and environmental impact on the area. More than 2,000 people are being affected in different ways: earthworks, caused by machinery, which crack their houses; respiratory problems, due to dust kicked up by vehicles, suffered by people living closer to the road; Decrease in the quality of the area’s clay, a raw material used in handicrafts, the main economic activity of these communities.

In addition, this population is also affected by the pollution of the river, which comes from the garbage dump in zone 3 of the Capital City, this derives from a problem that increases in rainy seasons.”

PBI-Canada visits, May 2023

Hope with the election of Arevalo?

On January 15, after the swearing in of the new Guatemalan president Bernardo Arevalo, El Faro quoted René Chacón, a Mayan Poqomam leader and second mayor of Santa Cruz Chinautla, who commented:

“We hope that there will be democracy for all, development and benefit for the whole country. In Santa Cruz Chinautla there is a large exploitation of part of the sand mines that have been degrading our land. Seeing these things, we came together. And here is not only Chinautla, but all the villages… But we have to wait. Even [the last president Alejandro] Giammattei said he wasn’t going to be corrupt. And in the long run he was. We can’t trust anyone, just wait for their will.”

The PBI-Guatemala Project has been accompanying the Chinautla Multisector Urban Platform since December 2018.

Further reading: “Our community is forgotten.” Visit to the residents of Chinautla (PBI-Guatemala article).

Photo: PBI-Canada meets with the community, May 1, 2023.

Alert: Death Threats Against Colombian Human Rights Lawyer Germán Romero

By
Brent Patterson
-

Article by Yannick Wild, Advocacy Coordinator, Peace Brigades International-Switzerland.

UN Human Rights Experts[1] sent a letter to the government of Colombia, expressing their concerns about the death threats and acts of intimidation committed against the lawyer and human rights defender Mr. Germán Romero Sánchez, a member of the Network of Human Rights Defenders (DHColombia).

Over the course of 2023, Romero received phone calls from unknown people threatening him and his family, specifically his minor daughters. He was followed and monitored and harassed on the street through direct threats to his physical integrity.

UN experts had sent letters to the Colombian government about German Romero’s risk situation in 2019 and 2012. After years of threats and actions against his daughters, German left the country with his family in 2021 before returning to Colombia at the end of 2022.

The threats come as Romero investigates members of the national police for their alleged role in killings that occurred in Bogotá during the September 2020 protests.

The Special Procedures asked the Government of Colombia to provide information on the investigations into the threats as well as on the protection measures provided to German Romero and his family. The Colombian government responded by explaining that the events are being investigated by the Directorate of International Affairs of the Attorney General’s Office. In addition, it clarifies that Romero “has been a beneficiary of [protection] measures since 2013.”

Germán Romero Sánchez is a lawyer and human rights defender, well recognized for his legal representation of victims of serious human rights violations and other crimes perpetrated primarily by state security forces. He has represented victims in emblematic judicial processes in which the responsibility of Colombia’s high-ranking military commanders has been investigated, and some that have been brought before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP). Romero is a beneficiary of precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

[1] Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence

The four requests in this letter:

  1. Please provide any additional information or comments in relation to the above allegations.
  2. Please provide detailed information on any investigations that have been carried out in relation to the threats and surveillance against Mr. Romero Sánchez.
  3. Please provide information on the protection measures that have been provided to Mr. Romero Sánchez since his return to Colombia from exile, and in response to the threats detailed above.
  4. Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that human rights lawyers, such as Mr. Romero Sánchez, who defend victims of human rights violations perpetrated by State authorities, are able to carry out their work without fear of threats, intimidation, violence or aggression.

PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS as FEDEPESAN shares their organizational experience with National University students

By
Brent Patterson
-

CREDHOS has posted on Facebook:

“We accompanied FEDEPESAN [the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of Santander] in their reception of students from the Faculty of Sociology of the National University. Together with them, we toured the Rosario and San Silvestre streams, and one of the areas impacted by the forest fires in March in the District of Barrancabermeja.

In this space, artisanal fisherwomen and fishermen shared their organisational experience in defence of their natural assets and trades in the face of environmental degradation caused by extractive activities in the region.

#Environment #Dignity #artisanalfisheries #CIENEGA”

It appears that the students have been in the area for a few days.

CREDHOS tweet: “We received a visit from students from the Faculty of Sociology of the National University of Colombia, with whom we shared the territorial dynamics of the Magdalena Medio region.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Regional Corporation in the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) since 1994.

inews reports on Elbit at weapons show in London, will The Breach be able to cover CANSEC in Ottawa this year?

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo by Caolán Magee.

inews.co.uk reports: “Companies selling weapons to Israel have been showcasing missiles at a three-day arms fair in London.”

That article by London/Belfast-based journalist Caolán Magee adds: “The International Training Technology Exhibition (IT2EC) – an annual display of the latest advances in modern warfare – and accompanying Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) conference was held at the Excel arena in Newham, east London, this week.”

“More than 50 nations and 120 companies were invited to the event covered by i, including Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of the Israeli firm experts claim manufactured the Hermes 450 drone that killed aid workers in Gaza earlier this month including three Britons.”

Magee then quotes Member of Parliament Kenny MacAskill who says: “It’s bad enough that the UK is complicit in the manufacture and supply of weaponry that’s killing indiscriminately in Gaza. But to be flaunting that is nauseating. It isn’t a game or reality show in Palestine, but unmitigated horror for millions. Arms sales to Israel must cease and so must shows that revel in the carnage being inflicted.”

The full article can be read at Inside UK arms fair where firms selling weapons to Israel showcase lethal missiles.

Inews.co.uk says: “We’re proudly independent and have no agenda when it comes to political disputes – but we won’t hesitate to call out injustice or wrongdoing when we see it, no matter who’s doing it.”

Similarly, The Breach in Canada describes itself as: “An independent media outlet producing critical journalism to help map a just, viable future.”

But in contrast, The Breach was barred from the CANSEC arms show that took place in Ottawa on May 31-June 1, 2023.

The Breach reported: “A CADSI representative told The Breach on Wednesday [May 31] that the media outlet had its accreditation request refused because it might provide ‘negative coverage’. ‘We have the right to deny media access, and we looked at your coverage and you do aggressively critical anti-war journalism’, the representative said on a phone call. When questioned about whether this would be an infringement on press freedoms, the representative offered access that was conditional on The Breach providing positive coverage.”

That article quoted Sarah Abdul-Karim, an organizer with the Ottawa chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, who said: “The event hosts Israeli arms corporations–like Elbit Systems–that regularly test new military technology on Palestinians and then market them as ‘field-tested’ at arms expos like CANSEC.”

At that time, Abdul-Karim said their goal is to “push the Ottawa City Council to ban CANSEC from operating in Ottawa at all.”

She added: “That’s the message that we want to send today: that we are not okay with this happening every single year in our city, with our government making deals with these war criminals and being part of the imperialist war machine.”

This year the Palestinian Youth Movement, Labour for Palestine, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), Anakbayan Ottawa and the Anti-Imperialist Alliance are demanding “from the Government of Canada that there be an independent and in-depth inquiry into CADSI and its direct involvement in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”

Instagram post.

CANSEC 2024 will take place this coming May 29-30 at the EY Centre.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has already welcomed CANSEC 2024 to Ottawa “on behalf of Members of Ottawa City Council” highlighting “I want to acknowledge CADSI, the guest speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors for dedicating efforts, expertise, services and resources to the successful organization of this annual event.”

The question remains if The Breach or other independent media outlets like The Maple would receive media accreditation this year.

Peace Brigades International provides accompaniment to journalists like Maya Q’eqchi’ reporter Carlos Ernesto Choc in Guatemala who are at risk for their reporting. PBI-Canada will be present at the protest against CANSEC to document/report on the stories coming from organizations, defenders and communities impacted by Canadian weapons sales and to monitor the Ottawa Police response to the demonstration.

Multiple groups say “Shut Down CANSEC” arms show, call for independent inquiry into CADSI lobby group

By
Brent Patterson
-

Instagram image.

Labour for Palestine, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), the Palestinian Youth Movement, Anakbayan Ottawa and the Anti-Imperialist Alliance say: “Warmongers will not be allowed to gather in peace!”

Their social media post adds: “Individuals and organizations will be gathering again at North America’s largest trade show CANSEC, held annually in Ottawa at the end of May, to further carry out deals for weapons and military technology.”

They then highlight: “We must continue to resist organizations like the Canadian Association for Defence and Security Industries and shut down warmongering events like CANSEC…”

Notably, they “demand from the Government of Canada that there be an independent and in-depth inquiry into CADSI and its direct involvement in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”

They conclude: “Join us at CANSEC2024 to confront the companies and people profiting most from war & genocide.”

The CANSEC arms show, organized by CADSI, will take place on Wednesday May 29 and Thursday May 30 at the EY Centre in Ottawa.

PBI-Canada will be present at the protest against CANSEC to document/report on the stories coming from organizations, defenders and communities impacted by Canadian weapons sales and to monitor the Ottawa Police response to the demonstration.

Nehirowisiw land defenders establish blockade to stop clearcutting on unceded Nitaskinan territory in northern Quebec

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo by Franklin Lopez.

On April 9, Nehirowisiw (Atikamekw) land defenders set up a blockade in Opiticiwan to safeguard their ancestral lands of Nitaskinan from logging.

Ricochet has previously noted: “The Atikamekw Nation, which represents close to 6,700 people spread over three reserves — Opitciwan, Wemotaci and Manawan — occupies a vast territory of 80,000 km2, the Nitaskinan, which straddles the regions of Abitibi, Lac-Saint-Jean, Haute-Mauricie and Lanaudière.”

Yesterday (April 11), the Nehirowisiw Aski Land Keepers Association Facebook page highlighted: “The Nehirowisiw Aski Territory Guardians maintain their position regarding the land claims that have been erected for over a year on various Nehirowisiw Aski heritage and ancestral sites. They are issuing these measures in order to protect the Territory of the Unconquered Nations and are raising their voices to halt the decline in biodiversity, combat climate disruption and denounce the abuse of resources.”

The blockade at Opiticiwan follows a confrontation near Wemotaci on March 18. To watch a 6-minute video of that by Amplifier Films, click here.

For geographic reference, Wemotaci is about 410 kilometres north of Montreal and about 585 kilometres north-east of Ottawa.

This second 5-minute video (also by Amplifier Films) notes that St-Léonard, Quebec-based Arbec Forest Products Inc. is “the company that carries out a large part of the logging on Nehirowisiw territory.”

This Guardians of Territory website explains: “Nehirowisiw Aski Territory Keepers have always existed and occupy ancestral territory to protect and defend the heritage of our ancestors. The Guardians of the Territory Association brings together the Guardians of the Territory, Hereditary Chiefs and Women Matriarchs. They join forces and skills to protect ‘Mother Earth’ from all dangers that could affect the ecosystem.”

It’s Going Down has also noted: “It’s important to note that the blockades and protests are not just about stopping logging but are a part of a larger demand for respect, consultation, and co-management of the lands that are central to the Nehirowisiw way of life. Community leaders have expressed a willingness to negotiate and to be part of the decision-making processes that affect their lands, indicating a path forward that includes respect for Indigenous rights and environmental stewardship​.”

For updates on this situation, please see the Territory Guardians Facebook page.

This GoFundMe page has been set up to support the land defenders protect their ancestral lands and forests.

We continue to follow this.

Video: Guardians of the Land: The Nehirowisiw Aski’s Fight Against Deforestation.

PBI-Colombia accompanies the Justice and Peace Commission at Amazon Pearl Campesino Reserve Zone youth meeting

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Colombia has posted:

“We accompanied @justiciapazcolombia [Justice and Peace Commission] to the first Youth Meeting of the year organized by @perlaamazonica_zrcpa [Amazon Pearl Campesino Reserve Zone] in #Putumayo.

In the event children and young people from the different communities that make up the Amazon Pearl participate to reflect on the peasant identity and the possibilities and challenges of the Peasant Reserve Zones as an organizational strengthening strategy. They also develop activities on the promotion of youth leadership and territory protection.”

The ZRC (campesino/peasant reserve zone) is located near Puerto Asis in the department of Putumayo in south-west Colombia near the border with Ecuador.

Illegal armed actors threaten human rights defenders

On March 19, Publimetro reported: “The Ombudsman’s Office identified risks in 50 municipalities and 18 non-municipalized areas of the Amazon, Caquetá, Cauca, Guainía, Guaviare, Meta, Putumayo, Vaupés and Vichada. Early Warning 007 of 2024 warns of the risks faced by human rights defenders in these territories.”

That article continues: “The Office of the Ombudsman identified eight risk scenarios faced by environmental defenders in the south of the country [including] territorial dispute over hydrocarbon exploitation, illicit crops [and] threats due to the exercise of authority and territorial governance [in Putumayo].”

It further specifies: “Human rights defenders in the Peasant Reserve Zones, such as Perla Amazónica and Río Pato – Balsilla Valley, have faced stigmatization and violence for defending their territories. There is a strong presence of the Central General Staff [Estado Mayor Central- EMC, about 3,500 fighters with a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia/FARC dissident group] and the Second Marquetalia [Segunda Marquetalia, one of the largest factions of FARC dissidents], which dispute territory mainly between Putumayo and Caquetá.”

Canadian oil companies in the Amazon

PBI-Colombia accompanies the Justice and Peace Commission that in turn accompanies the Amazon Pearl Campesino Reserve Zone and Jani Silva, the president of the Association for the Integral Sustainable Development of the Perla Amazónica (ADISPA).

Amnesty International has highlighted: “Jani Silva has dedicated her life to protecting the Amazon and the life that exists in it from efforts by armed groups and multinational companies to take control of her territory.”

The Guardian has also reported: “Silva says she has seen firsthand the effects of big business in Putumayo, where, she believes, oil companies ‘exploit irresponsibly’ and contaminate the environment.”

The Stand.Earth report CAPITALIZING ON COLLAPSE: How top fossil fuel banks financing Amazon oil and gas profit at the cost of forest and community health, Indigenous rights, and climate change (July 2023), has highlighted: “Canadian Banks Loaned a Billion dollars to Canadian Oil Drillers in the Amazon”.

It then explains: “Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the world’s top fossil fuel financier in 2022, leads a list of Canadian banks including Scotiabank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), as well as private investors like GMP Securities (Stiftel) that have lent an estimated 1 billion dollars to Frontera Energy and Gran Tierra between 2011 and 2019. That financing includes an estimated $300 million USD in financing that is considered direct financing for these companies’ Amazon oil drilling operations. Frontera and Gran Tierra are both Canadian firms operating in the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru.”

The report also provides this chart.

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Honduras attends PRO assembly as ASODEBICOQ defends environment from extractive projects in Santa Bárbara

By
Brent Patterson
-

PBI-Honduras has posted:

“We attended the Assembly of the Patronato Regional de Occidente (PRO) in Santa Barbara.

#ASODEBICOQ along with other civil society representatives expressed concern about the different #needs of its inhabitants and proposed projects to solve them.

We are concerned about the major problems associated with #deforestation, #water shortages and #persecution of leaders for denouncing irregularities.”

The PRO (Patronato Regional de Occidente or Western Regional Organization) represents about 200 communities in 15 municipalities in the departments of Copán and Santa Bárbara.

The Association for the Defence of Common Property in Quimistán (ASODEBICOQ) works to defend the rights to land, territory and the environment in the face of extractive projects in the department of Santa Bárbara.

Mining and hydroelectric projects

Those extractive projects including mining and hydroelectric dams.

The Center for Women’s Rights (CDM) has noted: “The department of Santa Bárbara is made up of 28 municipalities and is one of the main departments of interest for extractive projects.”

As of April 2023, the CDM says there are 75 extractive projects in Santa Barbara including 45 mining projects (extracción minera), 27 hydroelectric projects (hidroeléctricos), 2 thermal generation plants (generación térmica), and 1 solar panel project (fotovoltaica).

El Mochito mine and El Tornillito dam

Two of those extractive projects appear to be the El Mochito zinc-lead-silver mine and the El Tornillito hydroelectric dam.

Canada’s Goldcorp and the 2013 Mining Law

Criterio.hn has reported: “After passing the [mining] law in 1998, the Honduran government hemorrhagically granted mining concessions.”

That article also highlights: “Canada’s Goldcorp was one of the first companies to obtain a concession after the 1998 Mining Law was passed, exploiting the San Martin mine, located in the Siria Valley, in the department of Francisco Morazán, in open pit. Despite its closure in 2009, the San Martín mine remains one of the most controversial projects in Honduras, drying up 21 of the 24 rivers near its exploitation, where it used cyanide to separate gold from rocks. The San Martín mine showed the repercussions of the 1998 Law, which allowed companies unlimited use of water, exempting them from compliance with national environmental protection laws.”

The article further references the 2013 Mining Law.

It says: “The 2013 law, still in force, prohibits the granting of mining concessions in secret (requiring public notification), however, it qualifies certain project information as ‘confidential’. In theory, the law also bans mining in certain areas of the country. However, as discussed in the recent publication of this special, ‘mining exclusion’ areas are not respected in practice, harming the country’s watersheds and protected areas.”

From 2013 to 2021, 231 mining permits were approved.

In April 2014, MiningWatch Canada’s then Latin America program coordinator Jennifer Moore spoke to a Canadian parliamentary committee about the Honduran mining law that was passed in post-coup Honduras in January 2013.

Moore stated: “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.”

In May 2014, CEHPRODEC contributed to the report The Impact of Canadian Mining in Latin America and Canada’s Responsibility that was submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

That report noted: “The political and economic support Canada gives Canadian companies (through mechanisms such as Export Development Canada (EDC), the Investment Board of the Canadian Pension Plan, and the Canadian International Development Agency) is provided without adequate controls to prevent the violation of human rights in the countries where the companies that receive these benefits operate.”

Accompaniment

PBI-Honduras has accompanied ASODEBICOQ since May 2018.

We continue to follow this situation.

Government of Canada chart.

PBI-Canada talks about the CORE with University of Minnesota law school class

By
Brent Patterson
-

On April 4, PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson shared an overview of concerns about the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) with students at the University of Minnesota Law School.

We began with a timeline: the civil society call for an Ombudsperson began in 2007; the Liberal Party promised an ombudsperson during the October 2015 election (they were sworn-into office in November 2015); the formal announcement that a CORE would be created came in January 2018; Sheri Meyerhoffer was appointed the CORE in April 2019; the CORE launched its complaints process in March 2021; on March 26 of this year, the CORE made its “first determination” when it stated that Vancouver-based mining company Dynasty Gold Corp. has allowed forced labour at its gold mine in the Xinjiang region of China.

We also highlighted why civil society has called for an ombudsperson: From 2000-2015, Canadian mining companies operating in Latin America were involved in 44 deaths, 30 of which were considered ‘targeted’ and 403 injuries, 363 of which occurred in during protests and confrontations, according to data from the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, a legal clinic under the direction of law professors at York University and Thompson Rivers University. The clinic also found 709 cases of ‘criminalization’, including legal complaints, arrests, detentions and charges.

The Globe and Mail has also reported that there are likely 50 instances of alleged human rights abuses by Canadian companies in 30 countries in the last five years alone, the majority in the mining sector, but also in oil and gas, manufacturing and apparel industries. (To date, the CORE has focused on the issue of several Canadian companies that are alleged to have “Uyghur forced labour in China” in their supply chains.)

And we provided an overview of what Canadian civil society advocated for and what the reality of the current situation is:

-an independent office (instead, the CORE reports to the federal Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade)

-the power to thoroughly investigate a situation caused by Canadian companies, this would include the quasi-judicial power to compel a company to produce documents and provide testimony under oath (the CORE does not have these powers)

-the ability to make recommendations to remedy the harm (the CORE has emphasized it can help “shine a light” on the practices of companies and “make recommendations” to the government and the company; the CORE also says “we may recommend that the Canadian company take actions – such as compensation, a public apology, paying wages, cleaning up the pollution – but emphasizes “we can tell a Canadian company to fix the harm, but we can NOT force them to do it”)

-make recommendations to prevent future harm; this could include the withdrawal of diplomatic support and an end to public financing as a minimum (but the emphasis appears to be more on “finding a solution together” with the company, “mediation” with the company, and the CORE emphasizes “We do NOT have the power to make people or companies take specific actions”; in its first determination re: Dynasty Gold Corp. it has recommended Canada bar Dynasty from access to trade services and financial support, services that Dynasty says it has never received; CORE now says it will issue a follow-up report in 12 months time).

We also noted concerns about the dangers faced by frontline defenders and the lack of provisions to protect them:

-the CORE should have a scope that more fully recognizes the criminalization and violence that social leaders can experience, as well as the violation of Indigenous rights (instead, the CORE highlights “unsafe conditions at work” or “unsafe water”, which are serious issues, but do not capture fully the reality of what is happening)

-the CORE says, “we take retaliation seriously” (but their website focuses on how the complainant can be careful not to be overheard, etc., rather than any protection measures or consequences for the companies).

There were also questions about Sheri Meyerhoffer, who was appointed as the CORE in April 2019. It has been highlighted that she is a former lobbyist with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

As to the questions why the CORE does not have sufficient powers, we noted that the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) has revealed that between January 2018 and April 2019, representatives from the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and Prospector & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) met government officials on no fewer than 530 separate occasions.

And we noted five additional areas where the CORE could be improved to be a more credible mechanism for human rights complaints:

-a proactive approach emphasizing human rights rather than the onus being placed on complainants (the concern remains that Export Development Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the Trade Commissioner Service, and Embassies back, advocate, facilitate, write laws that support Canadian companies)

-a fuller recognition of the state and corporate violence, criminalization, repression of communities that resist megaprojects

-an end to the sense of impunity that corporations enjoy

-an expansion beyond the current limited mandate to include weapons companies that sell to repressive regimes, states committing genocide

-credibility, the onus is on the government to demonstrate it is serious and that there are consequences to human rights violations (there are binding mechanisms like the investor-state dispute settlement clause in “free trade” agreements, but no such provisions in these agreements related to human rights).

Overall, as the current situation stands, we noted as the primary obstacle: while the CORE promises confidentiality, the lack of investigative powers and the limited power of the CORE to remedy the situation (in other words the practical outcomes of the process) are not sufficient for people to take the risk of engaging in the process.

PBI-Canada presentation to UN Special Rapporteur on the right to water Pedro Arrojo-Agudo

By
Brent Patterson
-

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, is visiting Canada from April 8-19. He will share the preliminary findings of his visit on April 19 at 11:30 am ET at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa. He will then present his final report, with findings and recommendations, to the Human Rights Council in Geneva this coming September.

His call for submissions includes: “Issues related to actions of Canadian mining companies in Canada and globally relating to the rights to water and sanitation.”

At a consultation on April 8 at Carleton University in Ottawa, PBI-Canada highlighted related concerns and has submitted these brief written case studies of Canadian corporations impacting the right to water in Peace Brigades International-accompanied struggles in Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.

COLOMBIA: Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management has owned the majority of shares of the Colombian power generation company Isagen since 2016. Through that purchase, Brookfield now owns the fourth largest dam in Colombia, the Sogamoso Hydroelectric Dam near Bucaramanga. Between 2009 and 2014, six community members were killed and others disappeared due to their opposition to the dam (that began operation in December 2014). More recently, the dam has been implicated in the death of fish in the San Silvestre wetlands when it has opened its floodgates. PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS and FEDEPESAN, the fisher union affected by this.

*In October 2022, the Special Rapporteur was in Barrancabermeja and met with Juan Camilo Delgado (CREDHOS), Yuli Velasquez (FEDEPESAN), Ivan Madero (CREDHOS) and Marie Zeller (PBI-Colombia).

GUATEMALA: Mississauga-based Hatch Ltd. did the conceptual design and detailed design-build-engineering plan for the Oxec II hydroelectric dam on Maya Q’eqchi’ territory in Guatemala. Their Niagara Falls-based office says Hatch has been “developing hydroelectric sites in Guatemala for 20 years.” Hatch also did the conceptual design for the Oxec III dam (construction on that could start next year). PBI-Guatemala accompanies Bernardo Caal Xol of the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabon who spent more than four years in prison for being a spokesperson for Maya Q’eqchi’ opposition to Oxec dams.

*In March 2024, the Special Rapporteur met with Bernardo in Geneva and expressed an interest in visiting Guatemala. PBI-Canada also met with Bernardo in Guatemala in May 2023.

HONDURAS: Montreal-based Hydrosys built a dam on the Canjel River on Lenca territory without their free, prior and informed consent. In 2015, COPINH co-founder Berta Cáceres said she had received death threats related to her opposition to this dam. In January 2016, a bus headed to protest the Rio Canjel project was stopped by Honduran police searching for Caceres. She was killed on March 3, 2016, due to her opposition to another dam, the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River. PBI-Honduras accompanies the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).

Photo: PBI-Honduras began accompanying COPINH shortly after its co-founder Berta Caceres was murdered.

MEXICO: The PBI-Mexico accompanied Peoples’ Front in Defence of Land and Water-Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala (FPDTA) has stated that the Morelos Integral Project (PIM) favours Canadian mining companies such as Vancouver-based Alamos Gold. The PIM includes an aqueduct that will draw 50 million litres of water a day from the Cuautla River to cool the turbines of a nearby thermoelectric plant that will generate power for projects like mines. Náhuatl water protector Samir Flores Soberane, a member of the Peoples’ Front, was murdered on February 20, 2019, for his opposition to the PIM megaproject. In 2022, the Esperanza Gold Project was sold to Vancouver-based Zacatecas Silver.

WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY: We would also like to mention the role of Calgary-based TC Energy in the construction – without consent – of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in northern British Columbia. PBI-Canada visited their yintah in November 2021 and met with Indigenous water protectors who had been violently assaulted by a specialized unit (called the Community-Industry Response Group/C-IRG) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). These criminalized water protectors, some of whom are now in court and facing criminal contempt charges and possible time in jail, were peacefully defending Wedzin Kwa, a salmon-bearing river they consider sacred. They see the construction of this pipeline and the potential loss of this river and salmon as part of the ongoing genocide against Indigenous peoples in this country.

*The Special Rapporteur will be visiting Wet’suwet’en territory as part of this visit and meeting with Hereditary Chief Na’Moks and land and water defenders. PBI-Canada was on Wet’suwet’en territory in November 2021 and saw the dried blood on Logan’s ear after he was released from custody by the RCMP.

These are situations of concern for us that we continue to follow.

1...100101102...453Page 101 of 453