In July 2012 the Peoples’ International Health Tribunal held a hearing regarding three of Goldcorp’s mining operations in Latin America, including the Marlin mine project in San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa, San Marcos, Guatemala. Testimony was heard from health, environmental, and human rights experts, and members of communities directly affected by the mining operations. The Tribunal “delivered a guiltyContinue reading “2012 Peoples’ International Health Tribunal Hearing on Goldcorp’s Mining Operations in Central America [Guatemala/Marlin]”
Subsoil Country Archives
2008- Moratoriums on Metallic Mining [Marlin]
In 2008, the Government of Guatemala, then led by President Álvaro Colom Caballeros of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, instituted a moratorium on issuing new mining licences. This moratorium was triggered in 2008 by a successful constitutional challenge to the country’s General Mining Law, which was filed in the context of opposition toContinue reading “2008- Moratoriums on Metallic Mining [Marlin]”
2005-2017 Criminalization of and Violence against Protestors and Mining Opponents [Marlin]
Since it began, the Marlin Mine project has been associated with several incidences of violence against environmental and anti-mine protestors, as well as a general trend toward increasing criminalization by the Guatemalan state, with high incidences of protestors and mining opponents being arrested, detained, surveilled, and threatened. One prominent example involves eight Mam Mayan womenContinue reading “2005-2017 Criminalization of and Violence against Protestors and Mining Opponents [Marlin]”
2010 Ethics Tribunal on Border Mining [Cerro Blanco]
In November 2010, the first annual Ethics Tribunal was convened on the topic of Border Mining in Latin America. The Tribunal was held in Santiago, Chile, with a panel of judges drawn from leading individuals in the areas of human rights, trade unions, pastoral work, environmental defense, and indigenous rights. Organizers, including the Latin AmericanContinue reading “2010 Ethics Tribunal on Border Mining [Cerro Blanco]”
2012 IACHR hearing on the Human Rights of People Affected by Metallic Mining in El Salvador
On 4 November 2012, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held a hearing on the Human Rights of People Affected by Metallic Mining in El Salvador. The hearing was part of the Commission’s 146th Regular Period of Sessions, and held at the request of El Salvador’s Ombudsperson for the Defence of Human Rights (PDDH).Continue reading “2012 IACHR hearing on the Human Rights of People Affected by Metallic Mining in El Salvador”
2013 IACHR Petition filed by Council of Mayan and Xinka Peoples [Escobal]
In September 2013, the Council of Mayan and Xinka Peoples filed a petition against Guatemala before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for systemic violation of the collective rights of indigenous peoples in Guatemala. This petition was filed in response to the Constitutional Court’s 2013 decision, dismissing an action brought by Guatemala’s Western Peoples’Continue reading “2013 IACHR Petition filed by Council of Mayan and Xinka Peoples [Escobal]”
2008-2013 Moratoriums on Metallic Mining [Escobal]
In 2008, the Government of Guatemala, then led by President Álvaro Colom Caballeros of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, instituted a moratorium on issuing new mining licences. This moratorium was triggered by a successful constitutional challenge in 2008 of the country’s General Mining Law, which was raised in the context of opposition toContinue reading “2008-2013 Moratoriums on Metallic Mining [Escobal]”
2005- Community Consultations Processes [Escobal]
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 hydroelectric project in RíoContinue reading “2005- Community Consultations Processes [Escobal]”
2013-2019 Complaints to Canadian Securities Regulators
In May 2013, the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) filed a complaint against Tahoe Resources Inc. at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), requesting that the OSC investigate whether Tahoe had complied with its obligations under the Ontario Securities Act to disclose all material changes “forthwith”, including information relating to opposition and social conflict surrounding the EscobalContinue reading “2013-2019 Complaints to Canadian Securities Regulators”
2016 Complaint to U.S. Securities Regulators
In August 2016, the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) filed a complaint against Tahoe Resources Inc. at the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), requesting (among other things) that the SEC investigate whether Tahoe “failed to meet legal requirements for disclosing human rights abuses and failed to disclose lawsuits that impact the Escobal mine” (NISGUA,Continue reading “2016 Complaint to U.S. Securities Regulators”


