Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Mayan community in Guatemala shouldn't pay to clean up Goldcorp's mess

I got this from Amnesty International:

 http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=864&utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Informz


Sign Petition on Goldcorp's Marlin Mine: Canadian mining company could leave impoverished Indigenous community with multi-million dollar bill to pay


Dear friend,
Your SUPPORT is needed to help defend the human rights of the Indigenous Peoples living in Guatemala's western highlands, near San Marcos.
Goldcorp's Marlin Mine in Guatemala is one of the company’s most profitable gold mines, but the company is making decisions without the full participation of the Maya peoples whose drinking water and farm lands may be affected.

Act now to urge Canadian mining company Goldcorp to act responsibly and respect the rights of Mayan people living near the mine.
Goldcorp has just provided the Guatemalan government with a proposal for how they will clean up the Marlin site. But Goldcorp developed the plan without any meaningful involvement of the Indigenous peoples whose basic human rights are at stake. Affected communities do not know how the company plans to clean up the site, monitor it for problems over the next 20 or more years, or who they will be able to turn to when problems arise.

Furthermore, the company has put up a mere $1 million bond as a guarantee that it will follow through on its clean up plans. Respected, independent studies indicate that the actual costs could be much higher over many years. The Mayan peoples should not be left with the possibility of having to pay for the long-term, high costs associated with mine-site remediation and monitoring.   They must be fully involved in making decisions now which will affect the health of their communities over the next few decades.
Amnesty International is calling on investors to support a shareholder resolution that will be presented at Goldcorp's upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) in South Porcupine, Ontario, on April 26. To encourage investors to support the resolution and to show Goldcorp’s investors that Canadians and human rights defenders around the world think that this issue is important, Amnesty International is collecting signatures on a petition in support of the resolution.

If you contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) you should know that the CPP’s Investment Board holds $177 million in shares in Goldcorp, and millions more in many other extractives companies. As shareholders, we need to speak up against profit over human rights!

Goldcorp has pledged its commitment to respect for human rights. But the company has not yet met recommendations to improve its consultation practices. Social tensions in the communities around the mine run high.
Individuals in San Miguel Ixtahuacán who oppose the mine have been shot, intimidated and threatened. Peaceful protestors have been assaulted.

The shareholder resolution and the petition are supported by communities in Guatemala. The number of petition sign-ons will be presented to the company and media at the time of the Goldcorp AGM .
Let's make our voices heard. Please sign this petition and share it widely.Yours Sincerely,
signature

Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada

See Allan Lissner's photo exhibit of Marlin Mine, "Someone Else's Treasure"

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