In December 2010, the Committee in Defence of Life and Peace of San Rafael Las Flores and Colectivo Madreselva presented a petition of opposition to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) to oppose the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted by Tahoe and Minera San Rafael to obtain an exploitation licenceContinue reading “2010– Petition filed to oppose approval of Environmental Impact Assessment”
Subsoil Country Archives
2019- IACHR issues precautionary measures on behalf of Xinka Parliament lawyer
In July 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued precautionary measures on behalf of a prominent indigenous lawyer working with the Xinka Parliament. The lawyer had received a series of anonymous death threats, particularly after the public complaint by the Xinka Parliament against the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and the MinistryContinue reading “2019- IACHR issues precautionary measures on behalf of Xinka Parliament lawyer”
2021 Civil action by local families against Escobal mining licence
On 15 July 2021, the families that co-own the small landholding known as “El Salitre” in the community of Aldea los Planes, in the municipality of San Rafael las Flores, filed three administrative legal actions opposing the Escobal mine exploitation licence. The families were calling for the licence to be rescinded by the Ministry ofContinue reading “2021 Civil action by local families against Escobal mining licence”
2018- Human Rights Ombudspersons of El Salvador and Guatemala coordinate actions on transborder impacts
In November 2018, El Salvador’s and Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudspersons signed a letter of agreement on joint action on the project, “Strengthening the capacities of the personnel of the human rights institutions of El Salvador and Guatemala in relation to Business and Human Rights”. The project was supported and financed by the Danish Institute ofContinue reading “2018- Human Rights Ombudspersons of El Salvador and Guatemala coordinate actions on transborder impacts”
2020- Guatemalan Government and the Xinka Parliament initiate pre-consultation over Escobal
In February 2020, the Xinka Parliament and the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines restarted dialogue on the conditions necessary to fufill the Constitutional Court ruling on the requirement to conduct a consultation process with the Xinka people affected by the Escobal mine (see Legal Action entitled, “2017- Judicial Suspension of Tahoe’s Mining Licences“). In October, afterContinue reading “2020- Guatemalan Government and the Xinka Parliament initiate pre-consultation over Escobal”
2019 Salvadoran NGOs submit report to UN Universal Periodic Review
In March 2019, the Central American Network for the Defence of Transborder Waters – El Salvador (Red Centroamericana por la Defensa de las Aguas Transfronterizas – El Salvador, RedCAT) and Franciscans International (FI) submitted a joint report as Civil Society Organization input to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. InContinue reading “2019 Salvadoran NGOs submit report to UN Universal Periodic Review”
2014- Citizen Transborder Treaty Drafting [Cerro Blanco]
For Salvadoran NGOs involved in the Mesa Nacional frente a la Minería Metálica (National Roundtable against Metallic Mining), the regulation of transborder water resources in Central America has been an issue for many years. Their concerns emerged out of the discovery that both Guatemala and Honduras have received requests for exploration and exploitation of mineralsContinue reading “2014- Citizen Transborder Treaty Drafting [Cerro Blanco]”
1997 Enactment of Treaty for the Execution of the Trifinio Plan
In 1987, a long-mooted agreement between El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala was developed to establish the transnational Biosphere Reserve in the cloud forest covering the Montecristo massif which lies on the border of the three countries. The region is home to rare flora and fauna as well as serving as the catchment zone for threeContinue reading “1997 Enactment of Treaty for the Execution of the Trifinio Plan”
2005- Community Consultation Processes [Marlin]
Between 2005 and 2016, approximately 80 community consultations (consultas comunitarias), also known as popular consultations (consultas populares or consultas), were held across Guatemala, resulting in a large majority of citizens voting against mining and other commercial activities in their territories (Ardon, 2016). The “consulta movement” in Guatemala began in 2005 in response to a hydroelectricContinue reading “2005- Community Consultation Processes [Marlin]”
2006-2014 Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal hearings on Canadian mining in Latin America [Guatemala/Marlin]
Between 2006 and 2010, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) held three hearings as part of a session, entitled the “European Union and transnational corporations in Latin America: policies, instruments and actors complicit in the violations of peoples’ rights.” This session included testimony and evidence relating to the Marlin Mine in Guatemala. In respect to thisContinue reading “2006-2014 Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal hearings on Canadian mining in Latin America [Guatemala/Marlin]”
