On 31 July 2018, after repeated failures of local and national authorities to address their concerns regarding the ASP mining concessions, the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) and supporters established a protest encampment on the access road to the mine. The protest encampment in defence of water and life lastedContinue reading “2018 Eviction of protest encampment”
Subsoil Key Actors Category Archives
2018-2019 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against private company and State authorities
Since 2018 the Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) have filed a series of criminal and administrative complaints against state institutions, such as Honduran National Institute of Geology and Mining (INGEOMIN), the Honduran Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines (MiAmbiente+) and Honduran Institute of Foresty Conservation (ICF), as wellContinue reading “2018-2019 Criminal complaints by CMDBCP against private company and State authorities”
2015 Law to protect Human Rights defenders and journalists
In May 2015, Decree 134-2015 created the Law to protect human rights defenders, journalists and justice officials. In 2016 the regulatory code of the law was enacted. The 2015 law, modelled on similar experiences in the Latin American region, was passed in response to national and international pressure to address the wide range of threatsContinue reading “2015 Law to protect Human Rights defenders and journalists”
2019 Constitutional challenge to decree modifying Montaña de Botaderos National Park
On 25 February 2019, members of Municipal Committee in Defence of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) and the San Alonso Rodríguez Foundation, and accompanied by the Coalition Against Impunity, filed a constitutional challenge or judicial review (recurso de inconstitucionalidad) of Decree 252-2013 which had reduced the dimensions of the Core Zones of Montaña de BotaderosContinue reading “2019 Constitutional challenge to decree modifying Montaña de Botaderos National Park”
2006-2017 Constitutional Challenges to Honduran Mining Law [ASP1 and ASP2]
In 2006, a constitutional challenge was brought on behalf of 20 Honduran citizens, including representatives of the Honduran Association of Environmental and Agro-Forest Journalists (AHPAAF) and the Committee for the Defense and Development of the Gulf of Fonseca Plant and Wildlife, against the 1998 Mining Law. In 2006, the Court found that 13 of theContinue reading “2006-2017 Constitutional Challenges to Honduran Mining Law [ASP1 and ASP2]”
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”
2000 Community organizations challenge legality of environmental permit
In June 2010, the Siria Valley Environmental Committee (CAVS) and other civil society organizations filed an administrative challenge to the legality of the Honduran Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (SERNA) granting an environmental permit for exploitation of the San Martín concession. The legal challenge was unsuccessful (CIDSE, 2009: 69).
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]”
2006- Popular Law Drafting and Legislative Activities on the Right to Water
In El Salvador, the right to water and legislative initiatives protecting that right are closely linked to the socio-environmental and political struggle around metallic mining. For instance, in 2006 (the same year that a popular draft law to ban metallic mining was first proposed), a General Water Law was drafted by a group of aboutContinue reading “2006- Popular Law Drafting and Legislative Activities on the Right to Water”
2009 Latin American Water Tribunal holds Forum on Open Pit Mining
In 2009, the Tribunal held a forum focused on the impact of open pit mining in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Peru. The panel considered, among other things, the fact that the mining projects at issue were owned by foreign transnational corporations and the lack of capacity of governments and companies to develop projectsContinue reading “2009 Latin American Water Tribunal holds Forum on Open Pit Mining”
