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The struggle of the Guapinol River defenders against the Los Pinares megaproject continues in Honduras

By
Brent Patterson
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Guapinol Resiste photo: Water defenders face “arbitrary detentions, murders, forced displacements, breakdown of the social fabric, surveillance, state violence, threats, and online and face-to-face defamation campaigns.”

Community members and water defenders in Guapinol in the municipality of Tocoa in the department (state) of Colón in northern Honduras are peacefully resisting a megaproject upstream of the Guapinol River.

That megaproject includes an open-pit iron oxide mine, an iron oxide processing/pelletizing plant, a petroleum coke powered thermoelectric plant, and three water concessions on the Guapinol, Quebrada de Ceibita and San Pedro rivers.

About 14,000 people rely on the Guapinol River as a source of drinking water, bathing, cleaning, irrigation and cooking water.

Guapinol Resiste, the local community’s movement in response to the mining, has reported that even before mining began, the construction of the facilities and roads polluted both the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers.

Juana Esquivel, a representative of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, has also commented: “[The thermoelectric plant] would require huge amounts of water to operate, threatening the drinking water supply of local communities. Waste would be discharged into the Guapinol River, seriously affecting aquatic life and the ecosystem. The company’s studies absurdly claim that the fish in the river will adapt to the warm water coming from the plant.”

Photo by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), September 2022.

Photo by Guapinol Resiste, December 2023.

Photo: The pelletizing plant under construction, August 2022.

Photo: The mining project and pelletizing plant.

Attacks against water defenders

The consequences for the water defenders protecting the river?

An encampment to block the company from further polluting the river was subjected to a police raid on October 27, 2018, that killed Levin Alexander Bonilla.

Photo: For nearly 90 days, the Guapinol camp in Defense of Water and Life blocked the mine. On October 27, 2018, the camp was raided by 1,500 police and military personnel who fired live bullets and tear gas.

Then Roberto Antonio Argueta Tejada and José Mario Rivera were killed on August 28, 2019, Arnold Joaquín Morazán Erazo on October 13, 2020, Aly Dominguez and Jairo Bonilla on January 7, 2023, and Óscar Oquelí Domínguez Ramos on June 15, 2023.

Photo: Water defender Juana Zúniga has been targeted and subjected to threats, intimidation, and sexist slurs. Photo by Giulia Vuillermoz/Trócaire.

Furthermore, 32 criminal injunctions have been issued against Committee members defending the river and eight men were illegally jailed/ arbitrarily detained for 914 days (they were released on February 24, 2022). Leonel George was also arrested in January 2024.

Photo: PBI-Honduras accompanied the celebration on February 10, 2022, when it was announced that that Guapinol defenders would be released from prison.

On July 23, 2024, Guapinol Resiste posted: “Despite having protection measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) since October 2023, the communities of Guapinol, Sector San Pedro and Tocoa, and others affected by questioning Emco Holdings’ Pinares/Ecotek megaproject, continue to facing a situation of serious risk, among others, due to the lack of implementation of the measures by the State of Honduras, which leaves the beneficiaries in absolute lack of protection. In recent months, the risk in the communities has deepened with the increase in defamation and stigmatization campaigns on social networks and local media, and the increase in death threats, while the communities continue to denounce the insecurity in the area.”

Ownership of the megaproject

Elvin Fernaly Hernández Rivera, a researcher at ERIC & Radio Progreso (ERIC-RP) has documented the ownership structure of the megaproject: “The two iron oxide mining licenses known as ASP and ASP2 were awarded to Inversiones Los Pinares belonging to the EMCO Group whose main partners are the married couple Lenir Pérez and Ana Facussé, who belong to one of the wealthiest families in the country. The mining licenses were preceded by the installation of the iron oxide pelletizing plant, located fifty meters from the Guapinol River. To carry out the iron processing, the EMCO Group created Inversiones ECOTEK S.A. because the licenses granted to Inversiones Los Pinares are for non-metallic mining, so they cannot be involved in the processing stage.”

Other investigative reporting has found a link between the US-based steel company Nucor and Los Pinares (between 2015 and 2019, the period in which three water defenders were killed and the beginning of the arbitrary detention of eight water defenders). Investors in Nucor have included the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Bank Of Montreal, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The Vanguard Group, that has been the largest shareholder in Nucor, has an office in Toronto.

PBI-Honduras has accompanied the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa processes and Guapinol River defenders since January 2019.

Further reading: PBI-Honduras present as consultation rejects Ecotek petcoke plant that would power iron oxide pelletizing plant near the Guapinol River.

Front Line Defenders and Amnesty International to observe abuse of process hearing against the RCMP C-IRG

By
Brent Patterson
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Click here: The Yintah Access link to donate to help support the legal costs of the land defenders challenging RCMP C-IRG violence.

On August 29, a media statement from Amnesty International notes:

“A delegation with representatives from Amnesty International Canada, Amnesty International Germany and Front Line Defenders will attend next week’s hearings, which could find that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) used excessive force against the land defenders during their arrests.

Indigenous land defenders could face jail time or house arrest for rightfully defending the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s territory against the construction of the CGL pipeline.

Next week, a court in Smithers, B.C., will hear arguments into the abuse-of-process complaints of three land defenders arrested in a violent November 2021 police raid on Wet’suwet’en territory: Sleydo’ (also known as Molly Wickham), a Wing Chief (Cas Yikh house) of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation; Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet’suwet’en family connections; and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko, who is Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne.”

Photo by Front Line Defenders.

Photo by Amnesty International Canada.

Their media release continues:

““Like Chief Dsta’hyl, Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey “Jayohcee” Jocko face the prospect of imprisonment or house arrest because Canada refuses to respect their rights and the rights of the Wet’suwet’en Nation,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas Director. “If their cases go to sentencing, Amnesty International will not hesitate to consider new prisoner-of-conscience designations and shine more light into Canada’s failures on Indigenous rights.”

In June and July 2022, the B.C. Prosecution Service (BCPS) charged 20 land defenders with criminal contempt for allegedly disobeying an injunction order to stay away from pipeline construction sites. Seven of the 20 land defenders pleaded guilty because of restrictive bail conditions, as well as the familial, psychological and financial impacts that the criminal trial process was having on them. Five others had the charges against them dropped.

Sleydo’, Sampson and Jocko, who were found guilty of criminal contempt for violating the injunction, have filed an abuse-of-process application — arguing the RCMP violated their rights during their arrests — that could see their guilty verdicts stayed.”

Photo: Ana Piquer, the Chilean lawyer is the Mexico City-based Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Yintah Access has noted that beyond the week and a half of court hearings that will take place September 3-11 in Smithers, British Columbia, more dates have been set for November 4-8 and December 9-13.

Further reading: Land defenders continue their abuse of process claim against the RCMP C-IRG, September 3-11 (PBI-Canada, August 28, 2024).

Photo: PBI-Canada social media post.

PBI-Honduras observes live broadcast of trial of campesina Nolvia Obando, highlights the right to a public hearing

By
Brent Patterson
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On August 28, PBI-Honduras posted: “PBI observes the trial against defender Nolvia Obando through the live broadcast of the @PJdeHonduras [Judicial Branch of Honduras]. It is important that the public nature of the trial is respected. We applaud the work on behalf of #humanrights of the @RedDefensoras [the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras] and other organizations present.”

PBI-Honduras shared the post from the Justice for the Peoples Law Firm that says: “Police operation in the La Ceiba Courthouse at the start of the trial of a defender #NolviaObando denies entry to her colleagues and human rights organizations, denying the right to a public hearing. A tent will be set up to show solidarity and maintain the demand for a fair trial.”

Now, PBI-Honduras has posted: “Today we are following up on the conclusions of the trial against land defender Nolvia Obando, through the live broadcast of @PJdeHonduras. @RedDefensoras is asking that the Appeal for Protection filed by Nolvia’s defense be resolved.”

Front Line Defenders has also previously noted: “Nolvia Albertina Obando Turcios is a woman human rights defender, evangelical pastor and leader of the rural Red de Mujeres Campesinas Las Galileas. The Red de Mujeres Campesinas Las Galileas is a group that is part of the Central Nacional de Trabajadores del Campo (CNTC), who have dedicated themselves to the struggle for the recovery of land in Honduras. Due to their activities in defence of human rights, they have had to face acts of constant intimidation.”

And in June 2024, IM Defensoras highlighted: “In March of 2023, Nolvia Albertina Obando Turcios, was arrested and accused of land usurpation and indicted for this crime without the possibility of alternative measures. She was then taken to the Porvenir Prison in Atlántida, where she was held for five months.”

Now, Criterio.hn reports:

“In an act that has generated outrage among human rights organizations, the National Police and the security personnel of the Court of First Instance of La Ceiba have denied entry to defenders of the Las Galileas Peasant Women’s Movement to the oral and public trial of defender Nolvia Obando, which was rescheduled for this day, August 28. Obando faces accusations from the Public Ministry of usurpation, a charge classified as unfair and motivated by his work in defense of the land.

According to the complaint that was filed by the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras, the police argued that they could not remain at the entrance due to the number of people and that their presence in the stands could obstruct the passage.

In solidarity with Obando, the Las Galileas movement mobilized from their communities to accompany Obando in this process. However, when five colleagues tried to enter the courthouse as observers, they were forbidden to be outside the premises, arguing that there had been disturbances two weeks ago.

Since her arrest in March 2023, Nolvia Obando, a peasant woman accused of usurpation, has faced serious violations of her rights during the judicial process against her. The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Honduras has denounced the improper use of the penal system to harass and criminalize Nolvia, who defends the right to land and food and who was captured and exposed to the media as a criminal.

The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders demands the total release of Nolvia Obando, pointing out that she is innocent and has been the victim of an unfair judicial process plagued by violations of her human rights.

National and international organizations have shown their support for the peasant leader. Amnesty International has repeatedly denounced the criminalization of human rights defenders in Honduras, who face unfair and irregular judicial processes. The organization has demanded that the Honduran state guarantee fair trials and refrain from using the penal system to harass those who fight for the defense of human rights, common goods and territories.

Similarly, Peace Brigades International (PBI) in Honduras has emphasized the importance of respecting the public nature of the trial against Nolvia Obando, stressing that transparency is essential to guarantee a fair process.”

The full article in Criterio.hn can be read at Policía Nacional impide el acceso a defensoras en juicio de Nolvia Obando (Breidy Hernández; August 29, 2024).

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada participates in the VIII International Caravana of Jurists to Colombia

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by Justicia y Dignidad.

PBI-Canada Board member Heather Neun participated in the VIII International Caravana of Jurists to Colombia from August 19 to 28.

Neun was also there representing Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC). You can find her article about this delegation on their website here.

The Colombian Caravana-UK Group website notes that: “In partnership with Colombian human rights lawyers and defenders, the Eighth International Caravana of Jurists aims to shed light on the pressing human rights issues faced by Colombia and offers a platform for dialogue, advocacy, and action.”

The organizers have also noted: “In light of the evolving political landscape in Colombia and drawing insights from human rights lawyers and defenders, this delegation prioritises the intricate challenges faced in accessing justice, with a particular focus on ethnic and gender perspectives. Central to our inquiry is understanding the influence of economic interests in exacerbating violence.”

And they have highlighted: “The VIII Delegation aims to spotlight the predominant hurdles encountered by human rights lawyers and defenders as they navigate the quest for justice amidst shifting paradigms in Colombia. This thematic focus enables the Caravana to delve into discussions surrounding the protection mechanisms for human rights advocates and lawyers, as well as the gender and ethnic dynamics intricately woven into the various levels of violence escalation. Importantly, the Caravana amplifies the voices of those most impacted by these dynamics, whose participation is pivotal in bolstering the transitional justice process and paving the way for a stable and enduring peace.”

While more will be coming, we have noted on social media:

“Within the framework of the International Caravan of Jurists, we had the opportunity to share our experience as part of the National Movement of Mothers and Women for Peace, as well as to establish twinning relationships with Peace Brigades International.”

“We met with the [Special Jurisdiction for Peace] and civil society organizations to discuss the human rights situation in southwestern Colombia and create joint actions within the framework of the caravan of lawyers.”

           

We also draw your attention to the social media posts here, here, here, here and here, plus this social media post from the PBI-Colombia accompanied Luis Carlos Pérez Collective Lawyers Corporation (CCALCP):

“In Cúcuta, from August 20 to 22, delegates from the VIII International Caravan of Jurists were received, who learned about the actions and achievements that civil society organizations and human rights defenders have faced in the enforcement of the public policy provided for in the Final Peace Agreement, as well as the socio-environmental challenges that must be addressed in a transversal manner for the construction of peace in the country.”

             

Neun also participated in the VII Delegation in 2022. To read their report Confronting Impunity: Protect Lawyers and Judicial Independence, please click here.

We will be sharing the report of the VIII Delegation and more when it becomes available.

           

Webinar: Six months after the House of Commons vote, what is the status of Canadian arms exports to Israel?

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Noam Perry and Kelsey Gallagher will be speaking on Canada continuing to export arms to Israel. Register here.

The Canadian Friends Service Committee and Peace Brigades International-Canada invite you to attend a webinar on the export of Canadian military goods to Israel on Wednesday September 18 at 2:30 pm ET.

September 18 is the 6-month anniversary of the House of Commons vote to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel.”

And yet, as The Maple has reported, the Trudeau government authorized at least $28.5 million of new permits for military exports to Israel in the months prior to the vote; there are $94.5 million in unused export permits with expiry dates as late as December 31, 2025; and Quebec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. has been approved by the US government to be the principal contractor in the “possible” sale of $83 million in high explosive mortar cartridges and related equipment to Israel.

Speakers on this webinar will include Noam Perry of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability and Kelsey Gallagher of Project Ploughshares.

To register for this one-hour webinar, click here.

This webinar will provide an update on the current situation of arms exports to Israel, highlight Canada’s international human rights obligations, and help build support for Members of Parliament to endorse an arms embargo.

Register now.

Further reading: 1,358 Palestinian human rights defenders may have been killed over the last 10 months (PBI-Canada, August 17, 2024).

Video: ACTION MTL video of protest against Quebec-based General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc. that has been approved by the US government to be the principal contractor in the “possible” sale of $83 million in high explosive mortar cartridges and related equipment to Israel.

Land defenders continue their abuse of process claim against the RCMP C-IRG, September 3-11

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Corey Jocko, Shaylynn Sampson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham. Photo for The Tyee by Amanda Follett Hosgood; January 2024.

As noted by Sleydo’ in this video from this past June, the abuse of process court hearing will resume this coming September 3-11 (next week!).

The first part of the abuse of process application was heard in a courtroom in Smithers, British Columbia on January 12-19 this year.

The second part was to take place from June 17-21 but needed to be postponed until this coming week.

The application alleges the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) used excessive force and violated the Charter Rights of Indigenous land defenders resisting the construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory.

Yintah Access update on Instagram

Ricochet article by Brandi Morin

Journalist Brandi Morin also reports:

“In June and July 2022, the B.C. Prosecution Service charged 20 land defenders with criminal contempt for breaching the injunction order. Among the group, seven land defenders pleaded guilty, while charges against five others were dropped.

Three additional Indigenous land defenders, who were convicted of criminal contempt for defying the injunction terms, are currently contesting the legal process in an abuse of process application with their trial set to resume in September.”

Photo: Wing Chief Sleydo (Molly Wickham) of the Gidimt’en (wolf and bear) Clan at her home on Wet’suwet’en territory. Photo by Amy Romer.

Morin adds:

“About an hour and a half’s drive up the mountain road near the CGL pipeline route is a log cabin and several smaller structures. The view from this clearing is stunning — a glistening lake, rugged mountains, thick forests beneath wide-open skies with fireweed and Indigenous flowers growing wildly. 

In the home of Sleydo’, Molly Wickham, a Wet’suwet’en matriarch of the Gidimt’en Clan and mother of three, who helped lead the resistance against CGL’s pipeline, she looks out the window over the lake.

In January, Sleydo’ was convicted of criminal contempt for attempting to block the pipeline. She and two other convicted land defenders are scheduled to attend an abuse of process hearing which alleges the RCMP used excessive force during their arrest and that they were treated unfairly while in custody. The filing asks, if the judge does not suspend their charges, then consider lessening their sentences, in light of the treatment they received from the RCMP.

Since the RCMP pulled out of the territory, Sleydo’ said she’s had a chance to breathe. The years of harassment and militarization of her homelands took a toll, and she developed PTSD.

“It was literally like a war zone. And you can’t heal when you’re still in a war zone. So, this last year my health has improved dramatically. I’ve been able to start processing things, and feeling a lot more stable, and doing a lot more healing work.””

The full article can be read at Meet the hereditary chief who Amnesty International calls Canada’s first prisoner of conscience (Brandi Morin, Ricochet, August 27, 2024).

Our overview of the first hearing can be read at Twelve concerning things we learned about the RCMP C-IRG during the first week of the abuse of process hearing (January 20, 2024).

We will be following this court hearing.

LINK TO DONATE

RCMP C-IRG/CRU could be linked to British Columbia’s “Civil Disobedience Work Plan” to counter land defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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Image from BC’s Secretive Plan to Tighten Protest Response (Amanda Follett Hosgood, The Tyee, August 28, 2024).

Amanda Follett Hosgood of The Tyee reports: “On the heels of the last significant police action on Wet’suwet’en territory [against Indigenous land defenders opposing the construction of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline], [the provincial government of British Columbia/B.C.] quietly embarked on a process to ‘streamline’ its response to what it saw as a rising wave of protests across the province.”

The article continues: “Weeks after the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] arrested 30 people [including Indigenous land defenders] on Nov. 18 and 19, 2021, along the Coastal GasLink pipeline route, the Civil Disobedience Work Plan was launched by B.C.’s Public Safety Ministry following direction from the premier’s office, according to documents obtained by The Tyee through freedom of information requests.”

“Efforts to develop a plan got underway on Jan. 25, 2022, with a meeting among the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General [that oversees policing and provincial jails] and police leaders, according to the documents. The work plan was meant to result in a ‘new model’ for managing civil disobedience in B.C., according to an internal briefing note prepared for deputy solicitor general Doug Scott on March 8, 2022. Scott approved the work plan the following month.”

Image from Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General website.

Significantly, the article also notes: “It’s not clear where the process led or what changes may have resulted. The Tyee emailed questions about the Civil Disobedience Work Plan and its outcomes to B.C.’s Public Safety Ministry on Aug. 7 but the ministry did not provide a response prior to publication.”

The possible changes could include an “Integrated Protest Response Team”, new information systems to “enhance government monitoring of protests”, updating “the information management system and policies to allow broader access to policing data”, a communications strategy to “counteract the negative narrative re: police response”, and more concretely exploring “legislative, regulatory and policy tools” to improve the province’s response to civil disobedience, as well as coordination with “those who manage projects that attract civil disobedience.”

The RCMP C-IRG/CRU

Follett Hosgood further reports: “According to the briefing note, the Critical Incident Secretariat [lead by former RCMP officer Norm McPhail] consists of an RCMP liaison and representatives from ‘several impacted ministries in the resource extraction, Indigenous relations and justice sectors.’ It is funded and operated by the Public Safety Ministry and ‘has a contracted resource who maintains ongoing situational awareness’ related to Fairy Creek, Coastal GasLink, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and ‘convoy style protests.’”

Photo: RCMP Inspector Norm McPhail, Pique Newsmagazine, April 2009.

“About half of the roughly 150-page document [a March 2022 briefing note prepared by an unidentified author] provided in response to The Tyee’s freedom of information request was withheld, and references to specific outcomes were redacted under a section of the act that protects government recommendations and policy advice. The work plan’s timeline coincides with provincial efforts to make the RCMP’s Critical Response Unit — British Columbia, or CRU-BC, a unit formerly known as the Community-Industry Response Group, a permanent part of the province’s policing.”

Notably: “Documents obtained by The Tyee through a freedom of information response released in early 2023 revealed that $36 million of the funding [for the RCMP] was earmarked for CRU-BC to ‘lead a consistent, integrated and impartially administered police response to unlawful protests and public order events across the province.’”

Follett Hosgood adds: “The Public Safety Ministry didn’t respond to The Tyee’s more recent questions about whether CRU-BC had been tapped by the province to fill gaps identified by the Civil Disobedience Work Plan related to a dedicated protest response team and standardized police training.”

The full article can be read at BC’s Secretive Plan to Tighten Protest Response (Amanda Follett Hosgood, The Tyee, August 28, 2024).

To make a donation to support this type of needed independent journalism by The Tyee, click here.

The RCMP C-IRG and the Site C dam flooding Indigenous heritage sites and burial grounds in British Columbia

By
Brent Patterson
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CBC photo (March 1, 2016): “Tuesday, RCMP flew in to a remote Site C protest camp and stood in a snowy, forest clearing to read protesters Monday’s BC Supreme Court order requiring them to leave or face arrest. (Christy Jordan-Fenton)”

The Canadian Press reports: “BC Hydro says it has begun filling the reservoir created by the massive Site C dam project in northeastern British Columbia.”

That article adds: “BC Hydro says it will take between two and four months to fill the 83-kilometre-long reservoir, which will cover about 5,550 hectares of land while totalling about 9,330 hectares in surface area.”

The National Trust for Canada has previously specified the significant impact of this reservoir: “The Site C project would destroy 78 First Nations heritage sites—including burial grounds—as well as 337 archaeological sites, 27 built heritage sites (including remains of fur trade forts), and 4 paleontological sites.”

Chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nations tells Sarah Cox at The Narwhal: “There’s spiritual sites along the river that will be destroyed, grave sites that are along the river that’ll be destroyed. … Everywhere they dug they found artifacts on the river. If we had to prove our existence and our presence in the Peace River, they’ve got more than enough evidence. They can fill warehouses full of stuff. We have stories — old, old stories — about hunting the mammoth. And they were finding mammoth bones with flint arrowheads stuck in them, spearheads stuck in the bones and stuff like that.”

Land defenders

On New Year’s Eve in December 2015, Treaty 8 land defenders and allies set up a resistance site at Rocky Mountain Fort Camp on the south bank of the Peace River to protest against the construction of the dam.

On January 8, 2016, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs stated: “Yesterday, BC Hydro moved equipment in toward the camp, despite publicly saying they are speaking with Site C dam protestors and local authorities to try to peacefully end the standoff. The RCMP made three arrests at the north bank entrance of the project yesterday morning including a former regional district director. We are deeply concerned that BC Hydro’s actions are increasing tensions on the ground.”

Red Power Media (January 9, 2016): “Protesters on the 269 Road blocked traffic from entering the Site C dam work site for about an hour before police arrived Wednesday.”

CBC photo (January 12, 2016): “David Suzuki, third from the right, and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, centre, joined protesters at the Site C protest camp at Rocky Mountain Fort on Monday. (Yvonne Tupper/Facebook).”

In this CBC article, Suzuki said that the daily checks by the RCMP amounted to “a form of harassment.”

Times Colonist photo (January 21, 2016): “Site C opponents Christy Jordan-Fenton and Yvonne Tupper wait for Saulteau Security employees to pass during a patrol near their encampment at Rocky Mountain Fort earlier this month.”

By March 7, 2016, Water Canada reported: “Justice G. Bruce Butler of the B.C. Supreme Court ruled Monday [February 29, 2016] that it is ‘contrary to the public interest’ to allow protestors to shut down work at the Site C dam… The injunction, applied for in January, went into effect on Tuesday [March 1, 2016] at midnight, but it gave RCMP discretion for when and how to remove protesters. Some Site C protesters who’ve been delaying dam construction have already started to pack up camp.”

At that time, land defender Helen Knott of the Prophet River First Nation stated: “The Court has now authorized the unjustified infringement of our treaty rights. It has granted BC Hydro and the RCMP the right to clear the camp and if necessary, arrest us. We do not wish to be arrested. We wish to see Canada respect the rights of indigenous people.”

CBC photo (March 1, 2016): “Opponents of Site C dismantle the remote protest camp that stalled BC Hydro dam construction work for two months. (Christy Jordan-Fenton)”

The C-IRG

Formed a year later, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) were reportedly deployed to Site C.

Molly Murphy and Research for the Front Lines have noted in Briarpatch magazine: “In an interview with Research for the Front Lines, C-IRG Gold commander John Brewer [said] the C-IRG has been deployed … at the Site C hydroelectric dam…” In another Briarpatch article, they quote Brewer saying: “I have strategic oversight for the entire group, which includes Fairy Creek, Trans Mountain pipeline, Coastal GasLink, we’ve done fish farms, Site C…”

Photo: John Brewer.

The United Nations

The specific timing and details of C-IRG having “done” Site C is not publicly known, but it may coincide with warnings from the United Nations.

In December 2018, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which monitors compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (of which Canada is a signatory), stated: “The committee is concerned about the alleged lack of measures taken to ensure the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent with regard to the Site C dam…”

Then in December 2019, the UN Committee, acting under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure, further called on Canada to “immediately suspend the construction of the Site C dam, until free, prior and informed consent is obtained from West Moberly and Prophet River Nations, following the full and adequate discharge of the duty to consult.”

Despite this direction from the UN, construction on the dam continued.

By June 2022, the West Moberly First Nations that had long opposed Site C announced that it had reached a partial settlement agreement BC Hydro and the Province of British Columbia on the dam, with Chief Roland Willson commenting: “The final nail in the coffin was a while ago. They had no intention of stopping. …They beat us into submission, basically.”

Nisga’a land defenders establish highway blockade in opposition to construction of PRGT pipeline

By
Brent Patterson
-

We are following social media posts on X/Twitter and Instagram about the blockade established by Nisga’a land defenders in opposition to the construction of the PRGT gas pipeline on their territory.

A media release issued this morning also highlights:

“Now is a crucial time to stop this pipeline. They’ve brought equipment to make a 1000-person man camp. LNG is going to do a lot of damage to our nation and so we’re stopping it” said Richard C Mercer, a Nisga’a who, along with 200 other Nisga’a members from all four of its communities, has been working within his nation to protect the territory.

Nisga’a blockade concludes, Gitanyow checkpoint continues

We are now seeing on social media:

This weekend, The Narwhal reported on a road closure by Gitanyow land defenders in opposition to this same pipeline:

“After closing the Nass Forest Service Road to all pipeline vehicles on Thursday [August 22], two chiefs of the Ganeda (Raven/Frog) Clan, Gamlakyeltxw Wil Marsden and Watakhayetsxw Deborah Good, set up a checkpoint where the road meets Highway 37, about 170 kilometres north of Terrace, B.C. The road is the shortest route to transport heavy equipment and supplies for a sprawling work camp being built to support pipeline construction.

“They’re trying to build a 1,000-man camp just down the road at Nass camp, and we’re here to tell them to go around,” Gamlakyeltxw said at the blockade before the agreement was burned. “They’re not welcome. And as far as we’re concerned, this pipeline needs a new environmental assessment.”“

In this video posted on August 22, Watakhayetsxw Deborah Good stated: “As of tonight, I am closing the Cranberry Connector from 11 kilometers to 31 kilometres. …I am closing the road and I will keep it closed. There will be no trucks permitted through the territory. No LNG equipment will be permitted through the territory.”

Photo of ongoing Gitanyow checkpoint by Melissa Morgan.

A call for solidarity

Watakhayetsxw Deborah Good also highlighted in that video message: “For those people that are defending the Gitanyow, the Gitxsan and the Wet’suwet’en, I invite you to stand on the lines with the Gitanyow. Come and stand with my Wilp.”

About the PRGT pipeline

Construction on the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline began on Saturday August 24.

The proposed pipeline is being presented as a “joint venture” between Houston, Texas-based Western LNG and the Nisga’a Nation. The Reston, Virginia-based engineering company Bechtel will “oversee and manage the execution of the PRGT natural gas pipeline” while BC-based Ledcor will “support the 2024 work plan”.

If completed, the 800-kilometre pipeline would carry fracked gas from Hudson’s Hope in northeastern British Columbia across an estimated 120 kilometres of Gitxsan territory as well as about 50 kilometres of Gitanyow territory until it reaches the proposed the Ksi Lisims LNG terminal near the Nass River estuary on Nisga’a territory in northwestern BC.

From this proposed LNG terminal, the gas would be exported to countries including Japan and South Korea.

The environmental certificate for the pipeline says it must be “substantially started” before November 25, 2024.

Further reading: Indigenous leaders burn pipeline agreement, set up B.C. road blockade (Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, August 24, 2024); First Nation blockades road ahead of LNG pipeline construction (Canada’s National Observer, August 26, 2024); and Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs close road to LNG trucks in resistance to the planned PRGT pipeline (PBI-Canada, August 23, 2024).

Image: PRGT pipeline route dated March 2024.

PBI-Colombia meets with UN Working Group that raises concerns about the exploitation of natural resources, corporate transparency

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo by Indepaz.

The Bogota-based Center for the Study of Law, Justice and Society (Dejusticia) highlights in this feature article in El Espectador the recent visit to Colombia of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights.

The visit was led by UN Working Group Chairperson Fernanda Hopenhaym and member Pichamon Yeophantong.

The article notes that the Working Group highlighted concerns related to “problems rooted in the exploitation of natural resources”, “the lack of corporate transparency” and “the critical risks faced by human rights defenders and indigenous and Afro-descendant communities” while also noting the urgency of ratifying the Escazú Agreement.

PBI-Canada

The exploitation of natural resources

PBI-Canada has noted that of the 69 oil and gas exploration blocks awarded in Colombia between 2019 and 2021, 39 went to Canadian companies; and that 92 oil incidents and spills between 2015 and June 2022 have been linked to Canadian companies.

The lack of corporate transparency

We have also highlighted that The Globe and Mail recently reported: “[The Office of UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor] has registered 15 cases, between June, 2019, and March, 2022, of retaliation against human-rights advocates that she alleges can be linked to the activities of Canadian mining abroad.”

Lawlor says: “[Canada] is one of the worst offenders, in terms of cases and companies. …[Canada] parades itself on the world stage as being the good guys … But when it comes to the conduct of companies in the context of business and human rights, the UN guiding principles and the obligations of Canadian embassies themselves abroad, they’re really found wanting. And it’s a big issue.”

While Lawlor was not specifically speaking about Colombia, we are worried about the implications of her findings for Colombia.

The critical risks faced by human rights defenders

We continue to amplify concerns about the criminalization of eight social leaders from San Luis de Palenque, Casanare related to their criticisms of the business conduct by Calgary-based oil company Frontera Energy.

Instagram post: “We participate in the table for Human Rights in front of corporate power. In this dialogue Colombian organizations gave recommendations to the UN Corporate Working Group and DDHH. Also presented emblematic cases such as the one of San Luis de Palenque which is accompanied by @comitedesolidaridad.”

Further reading: PBI-Colombia accompanies the CSPP at Roundtable meeting visibilizing the criminalization of social leaders who opposed Frontera Energy (PBI-Canada article, July 31, 2024).

The Escazu agreement

In June 2021, El Tiempo published this opinion piece by the German, Swedish and Norwegian ambassadors to Colombia who commented: “At this time, Colombia has the opportunity to move towards strengthening peace and environmental democracy, and Colombia’s ratification of the Escazú Agreement would send a very important political signal.”

Canada has only generally and obliquely commented (while not specifying Colombia): “Some states have established specific protection mechanisms to prevent risks and attacks against HRDs and to intervene when need be. Canada wants to stress these important milestones such as the Escazu Regional Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Dejusticia concerns

In the El Espectador article, Dejusticia also highlights three of its priority concerns: “The carbon credit market, which without regulation violates the autonomy of indigenous peoples; the energy transition, which is making its way without prior consultation and consent of local communities; and the trade in less-lethal weapons, which is unregulated.”

The carbon credit market

We have also highlighted that PBI-Colombia accompanied defender Berenice Celeita has specified that there are hundreds of concessions to mining companies, carbon credits, and the expansion of the port of Buenaventura that generates new processes of dispossession. On July 4, 2022, Celeita, a Canadian labour delegation, PBI-Colombia and PBI-Canada attended a meeting with the Black Communities Process (PCN) in Buenaventura and heard concerns about a forest-related carbon offset scheme.

The trade in less-lethal weapons

We also continue to express concern about the export of Canadian military goods to Colombia (notably, light armoured vehicles) as well as the lack of transparency about the indirect export of military goods to Colombia via the United States, that could include components related to less-lethal weapons.

Nomadesc: “Colombians do not want more weapons, no more massacres, no more disappearances, no more threats, no more fear. #StopTheGenocide. We demand truth, justice and guarantees of non-repetition. Don’t send us any more weapons. That has made them accomplices of Barbarism.”

Final report, June 2025

The final report of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights visit to Colombia will be presented to the UN General Assembly in June 2025.

The full article in El Espectador can be read at: Alertas de la ONU ante la vulneración de derechos humanos por parte de las empresas en Colombia (August 20, 2024).

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