CIEL and partner organizations fight to stop human rights abuses in Guatemala by Canadian mining company Goldcorp, Press Resource Page

 

Resource Page

The Center for International Environmental Law is part of an international coalition working with Guatemalan organizations to defend the rights of communities adversely affected by Goldcorp and other Canadian mining companies in Guatemala.

Press Releases:

• Guatemala Suspends Marlin Mine: Human rights and environmental organizations applaud the decision, urge President Colom's government to protect communities against retaliation.
• Scientists find elevated levels of potentially toxic metals in some Guatemalans living near Canadian-owned mine, recommend further studies, 18 May 2010, in English and Spanish.
• Guatemalan community leaders ask Canadian government to investigate human rights violations committed by Goldcorp Inc. at Marlin Mine, 9 December 2010.
• Canadian Government Accepts Complaint Against Goldcorp; Affected Communities Urge Investigation, CIEL, 31 March 2010.

Complaint to the Canadian National Contact Point under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises:

• Specific Instance Complaint submitted to the Canadian National Contact Point, December 2009.
• Response from Frente de Defensa San Miguelense (FREDEMI) to the National Contact Point's Letter of March 24, 2010.

Community Petitions, Letters and Declarations:

• Sign-on Letter to Guatemalan President Colom, Requesting the Closure of the Marlin Mine, 10 November 2010.
• Letter from Goldcorp, re: Campaign Soliciting Letters to President of Guatemala to Suspend Goldcorp's Mine in Guatemala, 21 October 2010.
• Letter to Goldcorp from the Departmental Assemby of Huehuetenango for the Defense of Natural Resources asking for the suspension of its mining activities in Guatemala, 19 May 2010.
• Letter presented to the Canadian embassy by over 10,000 people marching in the capital on 22 April 2010 in both Spanish and English.
• International NGO Letter to Guatemalan President Colom (and list of organizations supporting the request) supporting the Petition, April 2010.
• Petition to Guatemalan President Colom, urging him to implement the International Labor Organization's recommendation to suspend mining licenses, March 2010.

Articles, Videos, Photos:

• "Paradise Lost" - investigation on Canadian mining companies in Guatemala, aired on CTV's W5 on Aril 17, 2010,
• "80 Organizations Ask to Suspend Mining Activity in the Country" in Guatemala's Prensa Libra on 6 April 2010.
• Video on community referenda on mining in Guatemala.
• Video "All that Glitters Isn't Gold" on Goldcorp Inc. in Honduras and Guatemala.
  

Technical Reports:

• Joris van de Sandt, "Mining Conflicts and Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala," September 2009 in both English and Spanish.
• COPAE, First Annual Water Monitoring Report for San Miguel Ixtahuacan and Sipakapa, 2008 (Spanish only).
• COPAE, Second Annual Water Monitoring Report for San Miguel Ixtahuacan and Sipakapa, 2009 in English and Spanish.
• COPAE and Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, "Preliminary Investigation and Analysis of Building Damage in the Villages of Agel, El Salitre, San José Ixcaniche, and San José Nuev Esperanza, San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa Municipalities, San Marcos Department, Guatemala," 2009 in English and Spanish.
• Acoguate, Territorios Indígenas y Democracía Guatemalteca Bajo Presiones, 2009.
• International Labor Organization, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, 2010.
• UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Concluding Observations on Guatemala, 2010 (Spanish only).
• Toxic Metals and Indigenous Peoples Near the Marlin Mine in Western Guatemala: Potential Exposures and Impacts on Health, 2010, in English and Spanish.
• Organization of American States' Human Rights Commission Urges Suspension of Mining Activity at Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine, 2010.

Other Useful Links:

• The Government of Guatemala's Position Regarding the Request for Precautionary Measures Submitted by the Inter-American Commission On Human Rights of the OAS, is available in Spanish and English.
• El Observador, Semi-annual newsletter containing articles on economic and political issues in Guatemala, including mining (Spanish only).
• Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala.
• MiningWatch Canada.
• Pastoral Commission for Peace and Ecology, COPAE (in Spanish and English).
• Breaking the Silence Network.
• Amnesty International Canada.
• CEIBA
• Photo-reports by James Rodriguez.
  

For more information, please contact Kristen Genovese, +1 202-742-5831.