Wixárika people deliver letter to Mexican President Calderón and shareholders of First Majestic Silver
Open letter - The Wixárika indigenous people delivered the following letter to President of Mexico Felipe Calderón in Mexico City on May 9, 2011. A delegation from the Wixárika people then presented the same letter to First Majestic Silver shareholders on May 19, 2011, during the company's annual general meeting in Vancouver. The letter expresses concern about the impacts that a proposed silver mine will have on one of their most important sacred ceremonial sites, called Wirikuta.
Barriere Lake Algonquin affirm opposition to mine during Montreal company meeting: threat of mining on their land exposes failure of Quebec’s Mining Act
Barriere Lake Solidarity news release: (Montreal) Today, community members from the Algonquin First Nation of Barriere Lake traveled to Montreal to attend the annual general meeting of Val-d'Or-based Cartier Resources Inc., where they affirmed that the overwhelming majority of their First Nation is opposed to the company’s Rivière Doré copper mining project moving forward on their traditional territory. A solidarity demonstration will happen outside of the shareholders meeting at 11:30 am at Dorchester Square, the corner of Peel and Rene-Levesque.
FPIC: The 'C' stands for 'Consent'
Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is clearly established as an international human rights norm. The right of Indigenous peoples to grant or withhold approval for actions affecting their rights is an integral element of the right of self-determination. Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) reflects the right of self-determination in common article 1 of the two human rights Covenants.
Goldcorp Asks Shareholders to Ignore International Consensus to Suspend Operations at its Marlin Mine in Guatemala
News release: After a year in which every major human rights body has called for the suspension of the Marlin mine in Guatemala, on Wednesday Goldcorp asked its shareholders to trust its judgment instead.
Mineral Royalties: Quebec is still at the bottom of the heap
A Response to Minister of Natural Resources, Nathalie Normandeau
Quebec, Wednesday May 18, 2011 – Quebec still ranks near the bottom of the heap in the collection mineral royalties, according to an analysis released today by the coalition Québec meilleure mine! and MiningWatch Canada. Despite changes to the royalty regime in 2010, Quebec still lags behind other Canadian jurisdictions with only 2% of the gross value of mineral production retained in royalties.
Affected Communities from the Americas Demand that Canadian Mining Industry Respect Their Rights
News release: Latin American human rights advocates are in Vancouver to testify about the devastating impacts that Canadian-owned mines are having on their lives, homes and territories.
Canadian Government Abdicates Responsibility to Ensure Respect for Human Rights
News release: Without ruling on allegations of human rights violations, the Canadian government has closed a complaint from indigenous communities affected by Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala. The decision marks the end of a process that was both procedurally and substantively deficient, and provides yet another example of Canada’s failure to ensure that its mining industry respects human rights around the world.
Penobsquis Denied Data, Hearing Resumes
The Concerned Citizens of Penobsquis resume their hearing with the Mining Commissioner today in the absence of monitoring data they requested through the Right to Information Act. The request was denied by the provincial government due to a contractual agreement between PotashCorp and the Department of Natural Resources.
What You May Not Know About Goldcorp's Marlin Mine in Guatemala
Document - The Coalition Against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA) responds to Goldcorp's arguments against an activist shareholder resolution, which will be voted upon at the company's upcoming Annual General Meeting on May 18th, 2011. The shareholder resolution asks Goldcorp to voluntarily comply with the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which include the temporary suspension of its operations at the Marlin mine in Guatemala's western highlands.