2009-2011 Complaint to Canadian National Contact Point for the OECD

In December 2009, the Front in Defense of San Miguel Ixtahuacán (FREDEMI), assisted by the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), filed a request for review with the Canadian National Contact Point (NCP), alleging that Goldcorp Inc. had breached the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in its operation of the Marlin Mine in Guatemala. NCPs are set up by countries adhering to these Guidelines to “assist enterprises and their stakeholders to take appropriate measures to further the observance of the Guidelines. They provide a mediation and conciliation platform for resolving practical issues that may arise with the implementation of the Guidelines” (OECD, National Contact Points).

In particular, FREDEMI alleged that “Goldcorp has violated and continues to violate Paragraph 2 of the General Policies of the [Multinational Enterprises] Guidelines, which states that enterprises should, “respect the human rights of those affected by their activities consistent with the host government’s international obligations and commitments” (FREDEMI Submissions, 2009). FREDEMI sought closure of the mine and a statement from the NCP.

According to an OECD summary of the proceeding, “[t]he NCP’s initial assessment was that the issues raised merited further examination and offered to facilitate a dialogue between the parties. The offer was accepted by the company. However, the NGOs declined the offer. The NCP attempted to explore whether the notifiers would be willing to participate in facilitated dialogue without any confidentiality requirements. The notifiers also declined the NCP’s second offer of facilitated dialogue with more flexible confidentiality requirements and reiterated their request for a full investigation of the facts, including a field visit and for the NCP to issue a final statement” (OECD, Mining in Guatemala).

The Canadian NCP issued a final statement on 3 May 2011, recommending that “the parties participate in a constructive dialogue in good faith with a view to addressing the issues raised” (Canadian NCP, Final Statement).