Date: Thursday, June 5,
Time: 4 PM Colombia / 2 PM PST / 5 PM EST
This webinar will take place on Zoom with simultaneous Spanish-English interpretation.
Host - Sebastián Abad- AIDA
Panelists:
- Natalia Rincón - Committee for the Defence of Water and Páramo of Santurbán
- José López - Committee for the Defence of Water and Páramo of Santurbán
- Luisa Gómez - The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
- Viviana Herrera - MiningWatch Canada
Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries for those defending water and life against extractive projects.
For 16 years, Committee for the Defence of Water and Páramo of Santurbán has worked to protect the Santurban páramo - a high altitude wetland ecosystem which provides fresh water to more than two million people. Recently, they achieved recognition of part of the páramo as a Temporary Reserve Zone, which means that large-scale mining activities will be suspended for two years. Due to its work in defense of the páramo, they have faced harassment and intimidation as well as disinformation campaigns.
On March 6, 2025 the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders sent formal letters to the governments of Colombia, Canada, and the UAE, as well as to the companies Aris Mining and MDC Industry Holding Company LLC to denounce the threats and stigmatization faced by the Committee for defending this ecosystem threatened by Canadian mining in Colombia.
Join this conversation to hear about the concerns raised by the offices of the UN and what you can do to take action to support the environmental defenders of the Santurbán Committee and their struggle to protect water. Register here.
Organized by: The Committee for the Defence of Water and the Santurbán páramo, CIEL, AIDA, IPS, Common Frontiers Canada, and MiningWatch Canada.