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International Observation Mission calls on Colombian government to guarantee the right to mobility, assembly and social protest

By
Brent Patterson
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Twitter photo by Eduardo Sogamoso shows a Canadian-made Huron armoured personnel carrier stopping buses on their way to a popular assembly in Cali.

The International Observation Mission for Guarantees for Social Protest and Against Impunity has issued a statement calling on the Colombian government to guarantee the right to mobility, assembly and social protest.

Their statement posted on July 17 notes:

“In the last few hours, various social and human rights organizations have denounced the harassment, profiling, threats of immobilization and registration of vehicles that go in Caravan from various territories of Colombia to the city of Cali to participate in the Second National Popular Assembly that will take place between 17 and 20 July.”

“These actions that limit the mobility of people are unconstitutional and constitute serious violations of fundamental human rights (the right to mobility, the right to freedom of expression, the right to assembly, the right to information and the press, the right to association and the right to participation) which prevents the society that is organized from doing so freely and without restrictions.”

“It is worrying that at the time of the detention of the buses by agents of the National Police, who demand that people prove that they are human rights defenders, which is contrary to the same UN declaration on this work.”

The full statement can be read here.

United Nations Special Rapporteur’s concerns

That morning, Clement Voule, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly, tweeted:

“I am concerned about the application of the decree adopted by the Govt of Valle del Cauca which, despite its exceptions, is currently limiting the arrival of human rights defenders in Cali, restricting their right to peaceful assembly in Cali.”

Global Affairs Canada has promised “appropriate action”

In multiple photos and videos posted on social media, a Huron armoured personnel carrier manufactured by the Toronto-based company INKAS can be seen stopping participants on their way to the popular assembly.

Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Michel Cimpaye has told the media: “From the outset of hostilities, Global Affairs Canada communicated with the appropriate Colombian authorities, who confirmed that Colombian law enforcement agencies are not using Canadian armored vehicles to deal with the situation.”

And on June 24, Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Jason Jung further explained to Radio Canada International: “Canada is monitoring developments in Colombia and will take appropriate action if credible evidence of the inappropriate use of any controlled Canadian product or technology is identified, including to perpetrate or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law.”

As of July 17 at 9:30 pm ET, there has been no public comment on Twitter from Global Affairs Canada or the Embassy of Canada in Colombia.

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The International Observation Mission commissioners arrived in Colombia on July 3 and released this 32-page preliminary report on July 12.

The report concludes: “The Mission is committed to monitoring progress in the recommendations that we have done. The follow-up of urgent actions will be delivered in August 2021 in conjunction with our full report.”

The media conference on this report can be seen here.

Canadian-made Colombian police armoured vehicle detains delegations travelling to National People’s Assembly in Cali

By
Brent Patterson
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On July 17, Alejandra Wilches tweeted: “This morning on some roads in the country, the police detained different delegations heading to the National People’s Assembly in Cali!”

Digital media Kienyke also reports: “Caravans of cars and buses with dozens of people were stopped on different roads in the country because the National Police prevented entry to the department of Valle del Cauca on Saturday.”

This 2-minute video (in Spanish) with a Canadian-made police vehicle visible in the background further explains the situation.

And this tweet/video (with the armoured vehicle visible) notes: “Several delegations from each city (Popayan, Bucaramanga, Bogota …) going to the Asemblea Nacional del Paro are detained by the police who prevent them from going there to Cali.”

Canadian-made armoured vehicles

The police vehicle in the photos is a Canadian made Huron tactical attack and defense vehicle manufactured by the Toronto company INKAS.

The company announced the sale of these armoured vehicles to the Colombian national police in May 2014.

On June 24, RCI reported: “When asked about allegations regarding the use of Canadian military materiel in repressive acts against civilians in Colombia, Jason Jung told us that at the beginning of the unrest in that country, Canada’s Ministry of Global Affairs contacted the responsible Colombian authorities, who confirmed that Colombian law enforcement ‘is not using Canadian armored vehicles’ to intervene in that context.”

The Global Affairs spokesperson adds: “Canada is monitoring developments in Colombia and will take appropriate action if credible evidence of the inappropriate use of any controlled Canadian product or technology is identified, including to perpetrate or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law.”

UN concern

This morning, Clement Voule, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly, tweeted:

“I am concerned about the application of the decree adopted by the Govt of Valle del Cauca which, despite its exceptions, is currently limiting the arrival of human rights defenders in Cali, restricting their right to peaceful assembly in Cali.”

Popular Assembly in Cali

The National Popular Assembly is happening in Cali between July 17 and 20.

Its objective is “to continue strengthening popular power through a popular democratic exercise that guarantees the implementation of majority decisions and continue debating differences.” It is a follow-up to the first assembly in Bogota on June 6-8.

Upcoming march in Bogota, July 20

Contagio Radio has reported on other instances related to police actions and the National People’s Assembly.

It notes: “According to human rights organizations and several members of social movements, these actions of repression against the National People’s Assembly and against the delegations that are heading to march in Bogota on July 20, indicates that there has been an action of follow-ups and profiling against those who have participated in the National Strike.”

That article adds: “For this reason, they demanded respect for the right to protest by the government of Iván Duque and requested the accompaniment of the international community to prevent further violations of human rights such as the more than 4000 that have been denounced in these 80 days of national strike.”

IACHR and #MisionSOSColombia recommendations

The police action reported on Twitter this morning follows the reports from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH-IACHR) on July 7 and the International Observation Mission for the Guarantees of Social Protest and Against Impunity in Colombia on July 12 that documented serious concerns about human rights violations.

The 41 recommendations from the CIDH-IACHR can be found here. The 54 recommendations from the International Observation Mission can be found here.

CIDH President Antonia Urrejola told journalists: “The commission confirmed that, repeatedly and in various regions of the country, the response of the state was characterized by excessive and disproportionate use of force.”

Notably, the International Observation Mission’s report called on the international community to suspend the sale of military weapons and riot control material, refrain from financing sectors and companies that threaten fundamental human rights in Colombia and to activate the suspension clauses in case of violation of rights of the different free trade and investment agreements signed by Colombia.

PBI-Canada continues to follow this situation.

INKAS photo.

Three criminalized defenders of Chicoyogüito to be released on bail, next court date in October

By
Brent Patterson
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On July 16, Caso Creompaz tweeted: “With substitute measures for the 3 criminalized companions of Chicoyogüito the hearing to review measures ends in the Court of First Criminal Instance of Cobán. Also in this hearing, MAGA [the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of Guatemala] was constituted as an adhesive plaintiff.”

It adds: “The next hearing will be convened in October.”

Earlier in the day, Caso Creompaz tweeted: “Hearing of 3 criminalized comrades of Chicoyogüito, who were captured on June 9 when they began a peaceful demonstration demanding the return of their territory, of which they were dispossessed by the @Ejercito_GT [Guatemalan army].”

Prensa Comunitaria further explains: “Three people who were linked to prosecution for the crimes of aggravated usurpation by claiming land from the Chicoyogüito community in June, obtained house arrest and may be released from prison after paying a bond of Q4 thousand, after the judge made a review of measures, says lawyer Francisco Vivar.”

Q4,000 is about CAD $650.

“The brothers Duvin Estuardo and Elmer Alfredo Hub Catún and their father, Alfredo Hub, accused of aggravated usurpation and two of them for the crime of attack, were arrested along with 18 other people on June 9 by the National Civil Police (PNC).”

“They were arrested when they were preparing to hold a demonstration demanding land that was taken from them by the army in 1968.”

“At the hearing on June 21, the judge granted house arrest to 18 people, but three of the detainees did not benefit from this measure.”

“In this hearing, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA) was constituted as an adhesive plaintiff in the process, because the Agricultural Training School, located in zone 9 of Cobán, Alta Verapaz, where the alleged invasion occurred, is attached to that area.”

The Prensa Comunitaria article concludes: “Vivar reported that the hearing in which the Public Ministry will present its investigation and ask that it send the accused community members to trial will be next October.”

PBI webinar on Creompaz

The day prior to the court hearing, PBI-Canada convened a webinar that included two members of the Chicoyogüito Neighborhood Association of Alta Verapaz (AVECHAV) who are seeking the return of their ancestral land that they were displaced from on July 28, 1968, for the construction of the Military Zone 21 army base, now called Creompaz.

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied AVECHAV since 2015.

To watch the video of the webinar, please click here.

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Peaceful Resistance of La Puya at dialogue with state on World Bank arbitration process

By
Brent Patterson
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On July 16, PBI-Guatemala posted: “PBI accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in dialogue with state institutions in the framework of international arbitration process driven by the company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates.”

Brief timeline and context of trade agreement arbitration

In March 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.

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.

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.

At that time, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “[The Peaceful Resistance] reaffirms its commitment to peaceful struggle for the defense of life and natural goods and territory.”

“Faced with this situation, they call on the population, to be vigilant in the face of any action by the mining company, which may give evidence of continued exploitation, since the operating licence remains suspended.”

On June 21, 2021, according to the World Bank ICSID website, “The Tribunal [hearing the claim] issued Procedural Order No. 7 concerning confidentiality matters.”

Commenting on the arbitration process last summer, PBI-Guatemala noted: “The Peaceful Resistance is forming legal alliances and solidarity across national and international organizations and groups. …Their objective is to make their voices heard in this exclusionary procedure and to create an antecedent that favors, not only the Resistance itself, but many other community processes that defend land, territory and water against projects which exploit natural resources. In this way they seek to prevent supranational arbitration processes from becoming the Trojan horse of mining and extractive companies.”

We continue to follow this situation closely.

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

“The appalling repression witnessed by the IACHR in Colombia puts Canada at a crossroads”: Celis and Campbell-Duruflé

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Colombia with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during their visit to Portal Resistencia in Bogota on June 10.

On July 14, The Conversation published an article by Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Sociology Professor Leila Celis and University of Toronto Faculty of Law Doctoral Candidate Christopher Campbell-Duruflé titled: With international pressure mounting on the Colombian government, Canada stands at a crossroads.

In that article, Celis and Campbell-Duruflé highlight that Colombian president Iván Duque Márquez has rejected the recommendations in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) report on Colombia.

The 41 recommendations from the IACHR can be found here.

In short, IACHR President Antonia Urrejola told journalists: “The commission confirmed that, repeatedly and in various regions of the country, the response of the state was characterized by excessive and disproportionate use of force.”

Celis and Campbell-Duruflé comment:

“The appalling repression witnessed by the IACHR puts Canada at a crossroads. Further silence after our government’s May 9 statement on the situation risks condoning the relentless crackdown. Supporting the IACHR’s recommendations would clarify that Canada’s foreign policy in Colombia prioritizes peace and human rights.”

“In comparison with Canada’s tepid stance, members of the United States Congress have called for the suspension of assistance to the Colombian police as well as of the sale of weapons to the ESMAD. Italian lawmakers have requested the International Criminal Court to open an investigation.”

“As researchers dedicated to the study of human rights and with a particular interest in Colombia, we identify three priority avenues for action.”

1- “Canada should publicly support the IACHR’s recommendations to Colombia and the efforts of its monitoring mechanism. Canada should publicly warn the Duque administration that the continuation of normal relations is conditional upon accepting the recommendations.”

2- “Canada should ensure that any future co-operation with the Colombian police or military and any future equipment sale is conditional upon decisive changes, such as dismantling the Mobile Anti-Disturbances Squadron, removing the police from the Defence Ministry’s authority and ensuring that police officers are tried before civilian courts.”

3- “Canada should address the shortcomings of its Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise and provide local communities an effective remedy in Canada against Canadian corporations whose actions compromise human rights.”

The article by Celis and Campbell-Duruflé further notes:

“At least three sales of armoured vehicles by Canadian companies to the Colombian government have taken place over the last decade.” In making that point, it refers to this PBI-Canada article: Canada should conduct a human rights review of the military goods it has exported to the Colombian police and army.

The full article by Celis and Campbell-Duruflé can be read here.

The same day that their article was published, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau met with Colombian Vice-President Marta Lucía Ramírez. Garneau tweeted: “I had an excellent conversation with my Colombian counterpart, @mluciaramirez. We discussed the Canada-Colombia relationship, the crisis in #Venezuela and our shared commitment to peace, democracy & human rights.”

Minister Garneau’s tweet, as Celis and Campbell-Duruflé forewarned, “risks condoning the relentless crackdown.”

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That letter can be read at: Canadian academics sign a letter urging the Government of Canada to take action on human rights violations in Colombia.

IM-Defensoras research shows women human rights defenders in danger in Honduras

By
Brent Patterson
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On July 16, The Guardian reported: “Despite the global outrage [at the murder of environmental defender Berta Cáceres], there has been no improvement in the plight of Honduran activists, who complain of facing intimidation, ranging from harassment and smear campaigns to death threats and illegal detention.”

That article further notes:

“According to a new analysis, the number of incidents involving female human rights defenders rose from 203 in 2016 to 475 in 2017.

The research by IM-Defensoras, an organisation representing female rights defenders in Central America, found seven other women who were engaged in similar struggles had been killed. There had also been 34 attempted murders since 2016, it found.

Between 2016 and 2019, 48% of all incidents targeting female defenders in the region occurred in Honduras.

Lydia Alpízar, co-director of IM-Defensoras, said the data painted a clear picture of Honduras as a place where environmentalists were at high risk.

Activists say that since the 2009 coup, the state has worked hand in hand with big industrial companies to pursue environmentally destructive projects, with scant regard for the rights of indigenous people.

“They are protecting their ancestral lands, and they’re in the way, and in the case of Honduras you can see clearly that opposing this model is lethal. You can get killed or criminalised, or pushed from your land,” says Alpízar.”

The article also quotes Bertha Zuñiga who says: “We have to continue the fight. Our work, our struggle for justice in the case of our mother, will contribute to this important cause of ensuring there is no repetition of this kind of crime in our country.”

The full article in The Guardian can be read here.

Three criminalized Chicoyogüito defenders in court today, community seeks their land back from the Creompaz military base

By
Brent Patterson
-

Caso Creompaz has noted that there will be a hearing today, Friday July 16, at 8 am (10 am in Ottawa) at the Criminal Court in Cobán, Guatemala.

Caso Creompaz explains: “This hearing will review coercion measures against three Chicoyogüito community members arrested when they started a peaceful demonstration on June 9 in Cobán, demanding the return of their territory from which they were stripped 53 years ago by the Guatemalan Army.”

You can follow the hearing on Twitter and Facebook.

La Hora reports: “On June 18, the first statement hearing was held, where [21 community members] were linked to trial for the crimes of aggravated usurpation and three for attack. 18 of them were granted coercive measures, including financial security of 5,000 Quetzal [about CAD$800], while three were sent to pretrial detention.”

And Prensa Comunitaria reports: “The protesters said they did not intend to carry out an invasion, but to demand the return of their lands, dispossessed by the army in 1968, to build Military Zone 21, which was a center for illegal detention, torture and extrajudicial executions [and is now the Creompaz base].”

That article also notes: “Outside the courthouse, dozens of residents of the community expressed their solidarity with the detainees, calling for their release. ‘We are not invaders’ and ‘Political Prisoners’ can be read on the placards they carried.”

PBI webinar on Creompaz

Yesterday, PBI-Canada hosted a webinar with two members of the Chicoyogüito community, lawyer Santiago Choc Cú of the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) who is seeking the prosecution of the military officers who committed genocidal acts at Military Zone 21, and World Beyond War Canada organizer Rachel Small.

The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has accompanied the Chicoyogüito Neighborhood Association of Alta Verapaz (AVECHAV) since 2015 and the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH) since 2013.

To watch the video of the webinar, please click here.

#JusticiaParaChicoyogüito

Canadian made engines in Colombian air force trainer aircraft arrive weeks after airstrike that killed 16-year-old girl

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo from El Tiempo.

On March 2 of this year, the Colombian Air Force conducted an airstrike in the eastern Guaviare province that targeted FARC dissidents.

Twelve people were killed in that airstrike, including a 16-year-old girl.

The Guardian reports: “At least one child – Danna Lizeth Montilla, 16 – is known to have perished in the strike. Her father, Jhon Albert Montilla [said] she had been staying with family in the rural region and may have been forcibly recruited by the rebels.”

That article adds: “After reports that several minors were among the dead left by the bombing raid, [Colombia’s defence minister] Diego Molano said that any young victims were ‘machines of war’ who had been indoctrinated by the guerrillas.”

Molano said: “It’s not like they were studying for their school exams.”

The Defence Minister also told RCN Radio that minors “cease to be victims when they commit crimes … unfortunately, they become criminals.”

Violation of humanitarian law

In response, lawyer Olga Silva of Humanidad Vigente has stated that it would be a “serious violation” of international humanitarian law if the military knew children were at the camp before the airstrike happened.

UNICEF Colombia says: “According to national and international standards, children and adolescents recruited are victims and their rights must prevail.”

Bogotá city councillor Heidy Sánchez tweeted: “The state should reach the regions in order to guarantee housing, food, health and education, [But] in Colombia it arrives to drop bombs. Who are the machines of war?”

And Adam Isacson of WOLA commented: “Molano [has] portrayed these children as expendable killers who deserved what they got. That kind of dehumanising language stripped Molano himself of his humanity, and it’s an absolutely terrible message to send to an armed forces with a difficult history of human rights abuse.”

Canadian exports to Colombian air force

Just weeks after the death of the 16-year-old girl, two Beechcraft T-6C Texan II turboprop trainer aircraft were delivered to the Colombian Air Force on May 8 and May 13.

They were formally inducted into service on July 11.

Key.Aero reports: “Various high-ranking officials were present for the event, including Colombia’s Minister of National Defense, Diego Molano Aponte.”

Kelsey Gallagher, a Canadian military exports researcher with Project Ploughshares, has tweeted the aircraft are “powered by Québec-made P&WC PT6 engines.”

Pratt & Whitney Canada is based in Longueuil, near Montreal.

International Observation Mission recommendations

Earlier this week, the International Observation Mission for the Guarantees of Social Protest and Against Impunity in Colombia recommended (4.1) the suspension of the sale of military weapons to Colombia (citing the EU Coe of Conduct on arms exports), (4.3) suspending free trade agreements with Colombia (citing the clauses in case of violations of rights), and (5.1) that companies that trade with Colombia implement due diligence imperatives.

El Tiempo reports: “[Danna’s father says] they are looking for legal mechanisms that allow them to report the case nationally and internationally.”

Earlier this week Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau spoke with Colombian Vice-President Marta Lucia Ramirez, but it does not appear that the death of 16-year-old Danna Lizeth Montilla was mentioned.

Colombia solidarity rally on Parliament Hill, May 28.

Canadian Foreign Minister meets with Colombian Vice-President, highlights 10th anniversary of trade agreement

By
Brent Patterson
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Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau’s comments following a meeting with Colombia’s Vice-President stand in clear contrast with two recent reports on the human rights situation in that country.

On July 14, Garneau tweeted:

“I had an excellent conversation with my Colombian counterpart, @mluciaramirez [Marta Lucía Ramírez, Colombia’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs]. We discussed the Canada-Colombia relationship, the crisis in #Venezuela and our shared commitment to peace, democracy & human rights.”

The readout from that meeting notes:

“Minister Garneau emphasized Canada’s concerns regarding violence in Colombia, both in the context of social protests and against social leaders and ex-combatants working to implement peace. He called on Colombia to keep its commitment to fully investigate and hold anyone who has violated human rights to account for their actions. They also discussed efforts to increase protection for vulnerable groups.”

The virtual meeting between Minister Garneau and Vice-President Ramirez comes just days after reports from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH-IACHR) on July 7 and the International Observation Mission for the Guarantees of Social Protest and Against Impunity in Colombia on July 12.

The 41 recommendations from the CIDH-IACHR can be found here. The 54 recommendations from the International Observation Mission can be found here.

CIDH President Antonia Urrejola told journalists: “The commission confirmed that, repeatedly and in various regions of the country, the response of the state was characterized by excessive and disproportionate use of force.”

Notably, the International Observation Mission’s report called on the international community to suspend the sale of military weapons and riot control material, refrain from financing sectors and companies that threaten fundamental human rights in Colombia and to activate the suspension clauses in case of violation of rights of the different free trade and investment agreements signed by Colombia.

In contrast to that last point, the readout from the meeting between Garneau and Ramirez says: “[Garneau conveyed] that Canada and Colombia are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the bilateral free trade agreement.”

PBI-Canada Board member Heather Neun was part of the International Observation Mission and with PBI-Colombia met with officials at the Embassy of Canada in Colombia following the conclusion of that mission.

We continue to follow this situation very closely.

PBI-Honduras notes with concern the low water levels in the Guapinol River already negatively impacted by mine road

By
Brent Patterson
-

On July 15, PBI-Honduras posted: “We note with concern the low water levels of the Guapinol River, a source of life for communities.”

PBI-Honduras quotes Reynaldo Dominguez, President of the Guapinol Water Board, who says: “Water, forest, can’t be negotiated. If they did, they would be negotiating the future of the next generations.”

They also note Guapinol defenders “express the importance of the international presence in the judicial process that will begin in the coming months.”

Criterio has reported: “Daniel Márquez, Kelvin Romero, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto, Orbin Hernández, Arnold Alemán, Ewer Cedillo Cruz and Jeremías Martínez Díaz are being held in illegal pretrial detention for the defense of the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers.”

“This is despite the opinion and recommendations issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and the amparos presented by Honduran civil society organizations to remedy the ruling issued by the judiciary.”

PBI-Honduras says: “We remember the important work of the 8 environmental and water advocates, deprived of liberty for 1 year and 9 months.”

On June 29, PBI-Honduras accompanied the media conference, convened by the Municipal Committee of Tocoa with representation from Guapinol and San Pedro communities, that presented a technical report on the impact of the mine project.

Criterio reported: “Members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of the Commons and Public Goods presented on Tuesday [June 29] to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment a technical environmental report on the pollution that affects the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, product of the exploration and mining exploitation of Inversiones Los Pinares in the Montaña de Botaderos National Park.”

“The presentation was made in Tegucigalpa by environmental defender Carlos Leonel George and engineer Limber Velásquez, who said that they hope that through this technical report, the Secretariat will cancel the environmental license granted to Inversiones Los Pinares, owned by the business couple, Lenir Pérez and Ana Facussé, son-in-law and daughter, respectively, of the late businessman Miguel Facussé Barjum.”

“In the engineer’s opinion, the environmental licence should not have been granted or at least should be cancelled now that the environmental consequences of the concession to the mining company are known.”

“The author of the technical report presented to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment explained that currently the road section that serves as access to the mine area is contaminating with sediments the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, both tributaries of the Aguán River that flows into the Atlantic coast.”

“Velásquez [also] warned that more than 35 micro-basins would be directly affected by mining.”

We continue to follow this situation closely.

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