El Salvador

Monday, May 14, 2012

Map: In the last few years, environmental defenders have organized to confront the social and environmental impacts of the mining industry. For their work protecting natural resources and the environment, environmental defenders have been subjected to human rights violations, which include threats, kidnappings, violent attacks and murder. The case studies examined in this report, and illustrated with this map, show that these instances are part of a growing trend in Mexico and Central America.

Friday, July 15, 2011

In the struggle to protect their water supply against Canadian-led gold mining, Salvadorans have had to fight for their lives and for their democracy. An excellent article by Robin Broad and John Cavanagh originally published in The Nation.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Joint news release with Council of Canadians and Common Frontiers: Yet another anti-mining activist has been murdered in El Salvador. Canadian civil society organizations are calling for a full investigation into the murder of Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, the fourth such death in two years that local organizations believe are linked to the presence of Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining in the department of Cabañas.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Salvadoran Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, anti-mining activist and university student, has been murdered (background information below). Join the Environmental Committee of Cabañas (CAC) and Juan Francisco's family in calling on the Attorney General and National Civilian Police to carry out an exhaustive investigation into the material and intellectual authors of this brutal murder and to and protect the lives of all anti-mining activists in El Salvador.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Forty-nine international civil society organizations express concern over a series of detentions and robberies against members of an El Salvadoran environmental organization (CEICOM) that have taken place during the last six months. They also note a disturbing tendency of increasing violence against environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America, too often in association with Canadian mining projects.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Presentation to Queen's University, International Development Week: Weak governance, investment protection agreements and strong political supports for Canadian companies operating in regions like Latin America make voluntary guidelines to ensure human rights protection a step in the wrong direction.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Our allies in the Cabañas environmental movement as well as the National Roundtable Against Metallic Mining (the Mesa) are very concerned about a recent wave of death threats and crimes against members of El Salvador’s anti-mining movement as well as other violent crimes recently committed in Cabañas.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Presentation: Canada is an important player in the global mining industry with important mineral holdings in Latin America. But the lack of an appropriate legislative and regulatory framework to hold our companies accountable for their operations abroad, means we are putting corporate rights over human rights. This presentation gives the example of Goldcorp's Marlin mine in Guatemala, with reference also to HudBay's Fénix nickel project.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Statement fromthe Communications Team of the National Roundtable Against Metal Mining: On September 22, 2010, the Specialized Sentencing Court "B" convicted the material assassins of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera Moreno, after concluding a two-day public hearing. After hearing some twenty testimonies and declarations from an accomplice under plea bargain, whose statements were corroborated by official evidence, the tribunal sentenced the perpetrators to 40 years in prison.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

SalvaideCommittee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities

PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release

(San Salvador, El Salvador) With the first hearing in the case of Gustavo Marcelo Rivera scheduled for Friday, April 30th, organizations in the United States and Canada continue being concerned about the murder case of the environmentalist in Caba&ntil