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PBI-Mexico accompanies International Women’s Day marches in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua

By
Brent Patterson
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On March 8, PBI-Mexico tweeted: “Under the slogan ‘Let’s go back to the streets!’, the women of Ciudad Juárez marched to the Cruz de Clavos [Cross of Nails], a symbol in memory of the victims of femicide. PBI accompanies the #8March in a city with high and worrying levels of impunity in crimes against women.”

The same day, PBI-Mexico also tweeted: “The panorama of the country is worrying. On average, 11 women are murdered per day in Mexico, 95% of the cases go unpunished and only 2% achieve a sentence. In this sense, we were also present at the mobilization that women carried out in the city of #Chihuahua.”

And PBI-Mexico also posted: “From their corporeality, women defenders of #ddhh resist different forms of violence, an unequal and patriarchal system. Given this, they articulate to defend their rights as women. Today and always we share the path for the search for rights for all.”

The words on the image say: “We walk together for a world with rights for all”

PBI highlights to Human Rights Council the lack of progress in investigations of Colombian police violence at protests

By
Brent Patterson
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On March 8, the Human Rights Council heard High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet present her global update on the situation of human rights worldwide, as well as her Office’s reports on Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras.

Kim-Mai Vu of Peace Brigades International presented these comments about Colombia and Honduras.

She noted: “We draw attention to the recent attack on February 27 against prominent defender Carlos Morales of CAHUCOPANA and his family. The attack occurred despite the precautionary measures of the IACHR of which the defender is a beneficiary. This indicates the insufficiency of these measures, and the lack of progress in comprehensive and collective plans for prevention and protection on the part of the National Protection Unit (UNP).”

PBI-Colombia also drew attention to this in their tweet that says: “#Today Intervention of @PBI_ISEC [PBI international secretariat] at @UN_HRC in #Geneva after the presentation of the Annual Report on #Human Rights in #Colombia by @mbachelet: Serious concern over the attack against president @CAHUCOPANA Northeast of #Antioquia.”

Police violence during national strike protests

This statement signed by PBI and presented by Franciscans International also notes further concerns about the situation in Colombia.

It highlights: “We see a lack of progress and results in the investigations against members of the Police allegedly involved in human rights violations during the protests. All of this in a context where the recently approved ‘National Security Law’ could result in further restrictions on the right to protest and more repressive actions and police abuses.”

Canada’s response to police violence in Colombia

On May 9, 2021, Canada’s then Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau commented on the violence seen during the National Strike in Colombia. At that time, he said: “Canada condemns the violence, including the disproportionate use of force by security forces, and urges that the violence cease.”

Minister Garneau then said: “We welcome the Government of Colombia’s commitment to fully investigate and hold accountable those who may be guilty of violating human rights during these events.”

By July 14, 2021, when the Minister met with Colombian Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez the readout from that call noted Garneau repeating his message from 10 weeks earlier that “called on Colombia to keep its commitment to fully investigate and hold anyone who has violated human rights to account for their actions.”

The statement presented today at the United Nations indicates the concern that almost a full year after the National Strike began on April 28, 2021, that Colombia has not held security forces accountable for human rights violations during the national strike.

These concerns have also be raised with Canada. On November 29, 2021, the Canadian Embassy in Colombia met with victims of police violence accompanied by dhColombia and PBI-Colombia. The victims expressed a lack of progress in the processes and the constant threats against them.

We look forward to statements from Mélanie Joly, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, reflecting the urgency of this matter.

 

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Peaceful Resistance of La Puya at 10th anniversary of blockade against gold mine

By
Brent Patterson
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On Sunday March 6, PBI-Guatemala posted: “Today PBI accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in commemoration of its 10th anniversary.”

As can be seen in this Twitter video, there was a celebratory feel to the anniversary.

This video clip also gives a sense of the gathering.

On March 3, PBI-Guatemala also posted: “We talked with representatives of the Puya on its 10th anniversary.” The video of that interview can be watched here.

TIMELINE OF THE RESISTANCE

On March 2, 2012, residents from San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc – an area known as La Puya, just north of Guatemala City – set up a 24-hour a day blockade at the entrance of the Vancouver-based Radius Gold Inc. El Tambor mine also known as the Progreso VII Derivada mine.

By August 2012, the Canadian company sold El Tambor to US-based Kappes, Cassiday & Associates, but retained an economic interest in the mine (including quarterly royalty payments on the gold production from the mine).

On May 23, 2014, after two years of peaceful struggle, the communities in resistance to the mine were violently evicted by the police.

(Two PBI-Guatemala volunteers who witnessed the May 2014 eviction were informed by the Guatemalan government of the cancellation of their temporary residence in the country, although the executive eventually reversed the decision.)

By February 2016, the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya won a Guatemalan Supreme Court ruling that provisionally suspended the mining licence because there had not been prior consultation with affected communities, as is required under Guatemalan and international law, in particular the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169.

Even after their eviction in 2014 and the court ruling in 2016, members of La Puya continued a 24-hour presence in opposition to the mine.

Then in December 2018, Kappes, Cassiday & Associates filed a $300 million claim with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank arbitration mechanism, claiming its investor rights under the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) had been violated.

On May 21, 2021, the court suspension on the mine imposed in 2016 was lifted, but authorization for the mine to begin operation has not been granted. The police were present at the site to enforce the court ruling, while the Resistance reaffirmed its commitment to the peaceful fight for the defence of life, natural property and territory.

On June 21, 2021, according to the World Bank ICSID website, “The Tribunal [hearing the claim] issued Procedural Order No. 7 concerning confidentiality matters.” PBI-Guatemala has previously noted: “The Peaceful Resistance is forming legal alliances and solidarity across national and international organizations and groups [to] make their voices heard in this exclusionary procedure.”

On July 16, 2021, PBI-Guatemala accompanied the Resistance at the site of the blockade/sit-in for a dialogue with state institutions in the framework of international arbitration process driven by the company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates.

On January 13, 2022, PBI-Guatemala accompanied the Peaceful Resistance of San Pedro Ayampuc and introduced themselves to the municipal authorities.

We continue to follow this situation closely.

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has accompanied the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya since November 2012.

“Between religious celebrations, parades, music, murals and various expressions of art, the Peaceful Resistance La Puya commemorated 10 years of Peaceful Resistance for the defense of life and water against the imposition of the mining project ‘Progress VII Derivada’.”

PBI-Guatemala accompanies UVOC at technical dialogue table with the Public Ministry

By
Brent Patterson
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On March 4, PBI-Guatemala posted: “PBI accompanies UVOC at the technical dialogue table with the public ministry and the prosecutors with several ministerial files.”

UVOC is the Union Verapancese de Organizaciones Campesinas (Verapaz Union of Peasant Organizations).

On Twitter, it describes itself as a “Q’eqchi’, Poqomchi’ and Achi’ Peasant Organization that fights for Resistance and Emancipation: Resistance to not stop being Original Peoples.”

The PBI-Guatemala website notes: “PBI has been accompanying UVOC since 2005, following threats and serious intimidation against some of its members.”

“In the few last years, the accompaniment of UVOC has been extended to some of the communities that the UVOC advises, with PBI carrying out regular visits to the communities of Finca La Primavera, San Miguel Cotoxjá, Nueva Seamay, Aldea de San Nicolás, Santa Inés and Tres Cruces.”

It adds: “These communities, which peacefully pursue the legal right to land they inhabit, suffer constant threats of eviction and intimidation by companies working in the region, as well as processes of defamation and criminalization.”

In terms of broader context, The Guardian has reported: “A peace agreement in 1996 should have led to land redistribution, but a handful of powerful families still dominates the economy, and Guatemala remains one of the world’s least equal and most violent countries, with the largest 2.5% of farms occupying more than 65% of the land.”

That article notes that foreign-backed mining, dams and other extractive industries have meant the continued dispossession of lands from Indigenous peoples.

The UVOC website can be found here, their Twitter feed here, and heir Facebook page here.

Webinar on applying to be a field volunteer with the PBI-Mexico project, March 20

By
Brent Patterson
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To learn more about the application process, register for this PBI webinar on March 20.

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project is looking for field volunteers accompany human rights defenders. The deadline to apply is March 31, with a training week in June, and placements in the field beginning in July-August.

To assist with this process, PBI-Canada and PBI-USA are jointly organizing an online information webinar with Clara van Tienhoven, a past PBI-Mexico field volunteer and the incoming Field Coordinator for the South Team.

That webinar will take place on Sunday March 20 at 2:30 pm EDT.

To register for this webinar, please click here.

Whether you are thinking about applying now or in two years time or just want to learn more about what it is like to be a PBI field volunteer, this webinar is for you.

PBI volunteers commit to a minimum of a year in Mexico in one of the two different working field teams: Chihuahua City, which serves the north of Mexico, and Mexico City, which serves the centre and south of the country.

PBI volunteers live and work together in an office-house, they participate in all PBI work activities (physical accompaniment, advocacy, communications, security and protection training), administrative tasks and internal communications.

C1/C2 level or equivalent of fluency in Spanish is a requirement.

PBI will cover the following expenses: round trip from your country of residence, all work and stay travel expenses (accommodation, meals, medical insurance), monthly financial support of 250 euros per month for personal expenses and a repatriation of 45.00 euros per month worked once your field placement has been completed.

To apply, complete the request form together with three references forms and send to formacion@pbi-mexico.org before March 31.

More details can be found at Become a Field Volunteer.

To register for the webinar with Clara on March 20, click here.

PBI-Honduras accompanies CEHPRODEC at festival in the Lenca community of Simpinula

By
Brent Patterson
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On March 4, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “PBI accompanies CEHPRODEC [the Honduran Centre for the Promotion of Community Development] at the Réunion performance festival in Simpinula (La Paz). We recognize the tireless work of CEHPRODEC in promoting community development projects and in promoting the defense of the human rights of indigenous peoples and peasants in #Honduras .”

The Lenca community of Simpinula

The Indigenous Lenca community of Simpinula has organized since March 17, 2012, “to defend their territory and their common property and the environment.”

Radio Progreso has explained: “Simpinula is located in the municipality of Santa María in the department of La Paz. An approximate of 100 people are those who inhabit the place that gained notoriety in the country for the rejection of the extractive industry, which in this area is expressed in hydroelectric or mining.”

That article adds: “Víctor Vásquez of the Lenca Indigenous Council, reported that the indigenous people of Simpinula, is a community like a lot of resistance and continues to resist against the onslaught of the extractivist model.”

CEHPRODEC’s work

Two area of CEHRPRODEC’s work include mining and energy/water concessions:

MINING

The CEHPRODEC website notes:

“The monitoring and observation in the last two decades of the mining processes in the country, whether these are industrial, artisanal, metallic or non-metallic mining, has led CEHPRODEC to carry out a permanent monitoring of this industry, its legislation and the effects that its violent execution has had on the territories at the national level. To confront this industry and its harmful methods, CEHPRODEC strengthens community organization, legally accompanies persecuted and criminalized by territorial defence, as well as the revision of legislation on the subject.”

ENERGY/WATER CONCESSIONS

Their website also notes:

“One of the greatest concerns of the populations in the territories where CEHPRODEC carries out its work is the way in which the State of Honduras has delivered water concessions and contracts to families and companies without consulting the communities and violating the right to public information and to decide on their common goods. In CEHPRODEC we understand that water must be destined mainly for human consumption, for domestic use for agricultural production and then for industrial production, priorities that are not observed at present and that have led to increased social conflict in our country.”

CEHPRODEC was founded in 1991.

PBI Honduras has been accompanying CEHPRODEC since May 2014.

CEHPRODEC lawyer Andrea Regina Pineda says: “We applaud the initiative of this new administration [to prohibit mining], considering that we are coming out of a dictatorial government that for so many years passed laws unfavorable to Indigenous and rural communities and the environment in Honduras.”

PBI-Guatemala: “Agribusiness hoards water and divert riverbeds, leaving communities without access to water”

By
Brent Patterson
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Screenshot from video.

On March 3, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on Facebook:

“On the South Coast, agribusiness hoards water and diverts riverbeds, leaving communities without access to water. In addition, the fumigation carried out without any type of control causes illnesses in people and losses in crops.

Learn about the situation of families on the South Coast. Let us demand that our authorities watch over the environment and act in favor of the population.”

It also recently posted:

“Do you know the struggle for water and life on the South Coast? Currently, human rights defenders are being criminalized for defending the human right to water. Join us and show your solidarity this March 14, date of its next hearing. Be informed and stand up for human rights defenders!”

Webinar, March 13

On Sunday March 13 at 2:30 pm EDT, join a PBI-Canada organized webinar (with simultaneous Spanish-English translation) to hear water protector Abelino Salvador Mejia and Ewa Klewar from PBI-Honduras talk about this situation.

Click here to register for this webinar.

CEHPRODEC lawyer Andrea Regina Pineda applauds Honduran government’s plan to review, suspend and cancel mining permits

By
Brent Patterson
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On March 3, Mongabay reported: “The [Honduran] government is no longer granting environmental permits for open-pit mining projects, the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines said in a statement.”

The article adds: “It also plans to shut down open-pit mines already in operation.”

The Mongabay article further reports: “[The government] plans to carry out a ‘review, suspension and cancelation’ of environmental licenses, permits and concessions that are already in existence.”

The article then quotes Andrea Regina Pineda, an attorney with the Honduran Center for the Promotion of Community Development (CEHPRODEC).

She says: “We applaud the initiative of this new administration, considering that we are coming out of a dictatorial government that for so many years passed laws unfavorable to Indigenous and rural communities and the environment in Honduras.”

After the government’s announcement, Pineda also tweeted: “Extractivism is a violent and murderous model, which was used by the State as a strategy to dispossess communities and persecute their leaders. Great achievement for the peoples and the struggles for the defense of the territory and the common natural assets.”

According to Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Mining Assets (CMAs) in Honduras amounted to $78 million in 2019.

It further notes that Canadian companies operated 4 mines in Honduras in 2019 and that number was projected to increase to 5 mines in 2020.

On February 28 of this year, Reuters reported: “Canada’s Aura Minerals (ORA.TO) operates an open-pit mine in western Honduras, where it has encountered stiff local opposition in part due to alleged disturbances to a Maya-Chorti indigenous cemetery. Last year, the company suspended operations due to what it described as illegal blockades.”

That article adds: “Aura Minerals’ San Andres mine processed more than 4.4 million tonnes of ore in 2020, producing nearly 61,000 ounces of gold, according to the company’s website.”

Historically, the Canadian Embassy in Honduras has supported mining.

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.”

It’s not clear Canada’s position on the Honduran government’s plan to carry out a “review, suspension and cancelation” of existing permits and concessions.

The Twitter account of the Embassy of Canada in Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua has not commented yet on the February 28th announcement.

PBI-Honduras began accompanying CEHPRODEC in May 2014.

Photo: PBI accompanies CEHPRODEC at a mass protest against the International Mining Congress, July 2015.

Further reading

MiningWatch Canada:

Above Ground:

Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability:

 

Join this webinar! South Coast water protectors criminalized for mobilizing against sugar mills in Guatemala

By
Brent Patterson
-

To register for this webinar, click here.

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project accompanies Abelino Salvador Mejía, Virgilio García Carrillo, Anabella España Reyes and Flabio Vicente.

They are criminalized water protectors from the South Coast of Guatemala who are part of the Council of Communities of Retalhuleu (CCR).

They will be in court on Monday March 14.

Join us the day before, on Sunday March 13 at 2:30 pm ET, to hear Abelino and Ewa Klewar of PBI-Guatemala talk about this situation.

To register for this webinar, click here.

Sugarcane production uses large amounts of water. To get that water, sugar mills divert rivers and drill wells. This impacts the availability of water for local communities. The production methods can also result in the pollution of water.

Organizing against this has resulted in the criminalization of these water protectors.

Notably, Canada is the largest importer of Guatemalan sugar. That sugar arrives in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal and is found in food and beverage products.

Abelino says: “We need people to realize that when they consume sugar, it has an impact on the life of the communities and on the right to water for all.”

To hear more from Abelino and Ewa, register for our webinar on Sunday March 13.

Our Facebook event page for this webinar is Defending the right to water from harm by the sugar industry in Guatemala.

Help us amplify this event on Twitter!

How does sugar from Guatemala arrive in Canada?

By
Brent Patterson
-

Join us on Sunday March 13 for a webinar on the impacts of the sugar industry on human rights in Guatemala. Click here to register.

The Guatemalan Sugar Association (ASAZGUA) has identified Canada as the top export destination for Guatemalan sugar. It has reported that 333,596 metric tons of sugar was exported from Guatemala to Canada in 2019.

The amount of sugar Guatemala is exporting to Canada has reportedly dramatically increased in recent years. In October 2017, the International Sugar Journal reported Guatemala triples exports of sugar to Canada.

How does this sugar get to Canada?

The export terminal in Guatemala

In July 2021, Sugar for Good reported: “Expogranel, located in Puerto Quetzal, is the specialized terminal for handling and shipping bulk sugar in Guatemala, which has positioned as one of the most efficient terminals in the world.”

Puerto Quetzal is located on the Pacific Ocean coast of Guatemala and is situated about 175 kilometres south-east of Retalhuleu.

Generally, the Canadian Sugar Institute says: “Raw sugar is transported by ship in bulk cargo to refineries located at deep water ports in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.”

Cargo ships to Redpath in Toronto

More specifically, the Chamber of Marine Commerce notes: “Redpath imports raw sugar extracted from sugar cane grown by farmers in tropical countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.”

It adds: “It is transported through the Seaway to Lake Ontario and then made into different sugar products at Redpath’s refinery on the Toronto waterfront.”

In April 2019, PortsToronto reported that the MV Cape brought more than 18,920 metric tonnes of sugar from Guatemala to Redpath Sugar.

In terms of amount, FreightWaves reported: “For Redpath Sugar, the shipment aboard the M/V Cape would have otherwise required about 300 trucks.”

Shipments to Lantic/Rogers in Vancouver

Sugar from Guatemala has also been exported to Vancouver for many years.

In May 2004, the International Sugar Journal noted the Rogers Sugar Vancouver cane refinery “obtains its raw sugar from Australia and for the past several years, Guatemala.”

In April 2016, Mark Lumley of the Ontario Sugar Beet Growers’ Association told the Senate of Canada: “Right now, we use about 1.1 million metric tonnes of sugar: 50,000 [later corrected to 90,000] of those come from Alberta and the rest comes from mostly Guatemala and Brazil into Redpath in Toronto, or Lantic in Vancouver and Montreal, and that’s it.”

In January 2016, Reuben Jentink wrote: “The sugar is loaded onto ships at the Expogranel sugar loading terminal, responsible for the reception, storage, and loading of all sugar product exported from Guatemala’s Pacific coast at Puerto Quetzal.”

He then notes: “The sugar then travels 3662 nautical miles to the Rogers Refinery’s deep-sea wharf located at the Port of Metro Vancouver.”

Jentink cites an email from Lantic general manager Ted Bowsfield to additionally confirm that: “The raw sugar travels in bulk, usually 25,000 – 27,000 metric tonne loads and is unloaded in Vancouver by two bucket cranes.”

According to Lantic: “The Vancouver refinery can produce up to 240,000 tonnes of sugar per year from imported raw cane sugar.”

Responsible sourcing by both companies

Lantic/Rogers produced this ESG Report in June 2021 that says: “Rogers’ raw material sourcing is responsible.” And Redpath says its “Corporate Social Responsibility Program is an ongoing commitment to continuous assessment of our supply chain.”

Redpath further highlights: “’Sustainably Sourced’ and ‘Ethically Grown’ for Redpath means that our raw cane sugar comes from suppliers who: respect and work towards the highest environmental, social, and governance standards; uphold human rights; have been verified through our rigorous Ethical Sourcing Program.”

Webinar, March 13

Please join us on Sunday March 13 when Abelino Salvador Mejia will speak about the impact of the sugar industry on communities and the human right to water in Guatemala. This webinar will have simultaneous Spanish-English translation.

Register here.

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