A Constitutional Injunction win at the Cotacachi Court on September 24 may stop mining companies destroying the habitats of endemic species in Ecuador.

(Intag, Ecuador) In a huge win for the environment, on Thursday 24 September a judge at the Cotacachi Court ruled that the Ministry of the Environment failed at its job of protecting species on the Llurimagua mining concession in northwestern Ecuador’s biodiverse cloud forests. The case has implications for mining companies operating throughout Ecuador.

On September 8, Canadian mining company Solaris Resources Inc. issued a press release announcing the signing of an “Impacts and Benefits Agreement (“IBA”) for the Warintza Project ” with the Shuar Centres of Warints and Yawi. The release followed statements that the company has been making since March about a successful “prior consultation process” the company had completed with the Shuar Arutam People through a “strategic alliance”. Following this release, the Shuar Arutam People's Government Council (CGPSHA) which represents the 45 Indigenous centres in Shuar Arutam territory, publicly condemned the statements as false, and accused the company of violating their rights as Indigenous peoples. Take action here to support the Shuar Arutam People and tell Canadian mining company Solaris Resources to respect the Shuar Arutam Peoples' Indigenous rights to self-determination in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

The Government Council of the Shuar Arutam People (CGPSHA) represents the highest organizational authority and sole representative of the 47 communities and 6 associations which make up the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA), including the Warints and Yawi community centres. It was legitimately elected by the General Assembly on March 31, 2019 and ratified by the Secretary of Human Rights and Worship on December 27, 2019. Faced with these antecedents, and in accordance with our mandate and attributions conferred to us in our organizational statutes as well as the Life Plan, we wish to inform the Board of Solaris Resources and the general public that: 1) We vehemently reject this “Impacts and Benefits Agreement” signed between the “Strategic Alliance” , created by the company and presided by Mr. Vicente Tsakimp, former president of the PSHA as well as the syndicates from the Yawi and Warints centres and the Canadian company Solaris Resources Inc. in regards to the Warintza project.

On Tuesday, September 22, American company Tesla celebrated Tesla Battery Day, which coincides with the company’s Annual General Meeting. Tesla is the largest producer of lithium batteries and electric cars in North America, and its majority shareholder is businessman Elon Musk, who has appeared in recent years as a promoter of the so-called “energy transition” to boost the sale of his products. Lithium batteries, having a more efficient storage capacity than those made with other minerals, have seen their demand increase primarily driven by the automotive and electronics industries.

(Ottawa) MiningWatch Canada and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-Canada) have launched an electronic Parliamentary petition in response to increasing extrajudicial attacks on civilians and human rights defenders in the Philippines since 2016.

Please support human rights in the Philippines by signing this petition before December 30, 2020. MiningWatch Canada and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-Canada) have launched an electronic Parliamentary petition in response to increasing extrajudicial attacks on civilians and human rights defenders in the Philippines since 2016. The Philippines is now one of the two most dangerous countries for those who defend human and environmental rights according to Global Witness. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ issued a report on the Philippines this year that found serious human rights violations against human rights organizations, lawyers, political and judicial actors, journalists, trade unionists, and religious groups.

(Ottawa) In an important decision, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that a plebiscite on metal mining in the southern municipality of Cuenca is, in fact, constitutional.

On September 8th, the mayor of the municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government (GAD) of Cuenca, with unanimous backing from the GAD council, submitted a petition to the Court to review the constitutionality of a series of plebiscite questions developed to protect Cuenca’s principal water sources from mining.

(Carrizalillo, Mexico) After fifteen days during which Equinox Gold has been incapable of engaging with the ejido of Carrizalillo in such a way as to initiate a productive dialogue that could lead to the restart of the mine and related activities, today, the company sent the Vice President of Sustainability Georgina Blanco Mancilla to meet with the ejido. 

On the morning of September 17th, the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta, Chile, ruled that Barrick Gold’s controversial Pascua Lama project be “definitively and totally closed.” The court also determined that the company will have to pay a fine of 7 billion Chilean pesos, just over $12 million Canadian.