November 15, 2023
WASHINGTON, DC —The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) stands in solidarity with partners, colleagues, and all of those who have peacefully demonstrated in Panama.
Thousands of people in both urban and rural areas of Panama have taken to the streets to demonstrate their rejection of metallic mining in response to g recent reforms related to a concession to exploit Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine. Protests across the country, joined by teachers, construction and healthcare unions, as well as Indigenous Peoples, condemn the lack of transparency and the absence of public participation safeguards in environmental matters related to this concession.
Protesters have also claimed the unconstitutionality of any reform that would give green light to continue exploitation, as there is a previous decision by Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice that addresses the socio-environmental damage caused by such activity in a protected biological corridor.
We have become aware of the excessive and indiscriminate use of force against demonstrators and journalists, based on direct communications with partners from Indigenous Peoples in Panama and reports from national institutions and regional human rights bodies, as well as from local and international journalistic sources. This has resulted in complaints of human rights violations related to personal integrity and freedom. Further, several deaths have been recorded in the context of the demonstrations.
CIEL unequivocally condemns violence against peaceful demonstrators. We urge the government of Panama and the international community to take immediate steps to ensure that the State fulfills its responsibility to respect and protect human rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, as well as the right to life, freedom and personal integrity.
Additionally, CIEL urges Panamanian public authorities not to use the context of protests and public disorder to limit civic space and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Recently, it was announced that the Public Forums on the Fourth Electricity Transmission Line Project in Panama, spaces for environmental participation for those affected by this project and who CIEL accompanied in filing a complaint before the CAO, will be held between November 16 and 24 of this year.
Understanding that the conditions of public disorder persist and may possibly extend for a longer period, the Panamanian authorities, by virtue of the effective and material exercise of the rights to information and participation in environmental matters, should postpone the holding of these Public Forums.
Both in the context of the widespread demonstrations in the country and in the case of the Public Forums of the Fourth Electricity Transmission Line, CIEL calls on international organizations and the State of Panama, as signatory to the Escazú Agreement, to effectively and fully implement the rights of access to information, participation, and justice in environmental matters, and to ensure a safe and conducive environment for all individuals, groups, and organizations to exercise their right to defend and realize their human rights.
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Media contact:
Maria Frausto at press@ciel.org