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IACHR’s lenience towards Goldcorp is criticised by NGOs

Richard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:16:55 +0000

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the western hemisphere’s primary organ for protecting human rights, decided in late December 2011 to modify an earlier order regarding Goldcorp’s controversial Marlin mine in Guatemala. Although subject to an ongoing human rights complaint, IACHR has lifted its recommendation to suspend operations at the mine, while leaving other measures in place.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11419&l=1.

Goldcorp green lights US$3.9bn El Morro project in Chile

Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s board approved the decision to begin construction of the US$3.9bn El Morro copper-gold project in northern Chile’s region III. See http://www.bnamericas.com/news/mining/goldcorp-green-lights-us39bn-el-morro-project/282822928.

Canadian mining projects move ahead in Argentina

Argentina expects two Canadian miners, Pan American Silver and Goldcorp, to start construction on sizeable projects over the next six months as the sector continues to expand, the country’s mining secretary said on Tuesday. See http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE8092EQ20120110.

OAS Human Rights Commission withdraws demand for Marlin Mine closure

Richard — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:50:04 +0000

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States has notified the Guatemalan government that the IACHR has withdrawn its demand that Guatemala close Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=141942&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

See also Guatemala: Authors of report alleging Goldcorp’s Marlin mine contributes “little” to sustainable development & poses environmental risks issue rejoinder to Goldcorp’s response at http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/1010010.

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

Goldcorp Removed from Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Richard — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 09:36:38 +0000

Effective September 19th, Goldcorp has been removed from the Dow Jones North America Sustainability Index. The announcement comes in the context of ongoing allegations of human rights violations and evidence of environmental contamination in communities affected by Goldcorp’s mining activities.

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11198.

Conference statement: Natural resources and the Mission of the Church in Latin America

Richard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:13:46 +0000

Catholic Church bishops are taking on an activist role in extractive industry conflicts, as evidenced by a recent symposium in the Peruvian capital Lima. The Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) conference “committed the church to playing a role in informing communities about the benefits and disadvantages of extractive industries, using church radios and other media.”

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11071.

This report mentions Goldcorp (for background, see http://londonminingnetwork.org/?s=goldcorp).

Further Goldcorp human rights issues in Guatemala and Honduras

Richard — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:52:51 +0000

On 7 July 2010, Diodora Antonia Hernandez Cinto (a Mayan-Mam campesina woman from the mountainous village of San Jose Nueva Esperanza) was shot point-blank in the head and left for dead by two local men (mine workers) who ran off into the night. She was shot because she refuses to sell her plot of land to Montana Exploradora, Goldcorp’s subsidiary operating an open-pit, mountain-top removal, cyanide-leaching gold and silver mine in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11052.

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

UK jewellery giants in spotlight over dirty gold

Richard — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:00:43 +0000

Channel 4’s current affairs programme Dispatches has gone undercover to investigate the gold sold through some of the high street’s biggest jewellery retailers. The programme was presented by Deirdre Bounds, who went campaigning on the streets of London.

The programme has apparently revealed that British consumers are being given the wrong information by retailers when buying gold jewellery. See: http://www.professionaljeweller.com/article-9611-uk-jewellery-giants-in-spotlight-over-dirty-gold/

For a direct link to the programme go to: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/the-real-price-of-gold-pledge (You can also sign up to the pledge and make comments). The programme covers material on Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala. Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AVA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

Guatemala: why doesn’t the government close Marlin down?

Richard — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:57:54 +0000

Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala is getting to be the most criticised in Latin America – and one of the most divisive too. International bodies are lining up to demand a close down, while Goldcorp and some of its shareholders claim the company is doing everything it can to avoid environmental damage and observe human rights. See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10987

Oxfam America has created a petition, which they will hand deliver to the Guatemalan Government. Sign on at: https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1229

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AVA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

Guatemalan president snubs Mayan peoples

Richard — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:43:16 +0000

Mayan organisations in Guatemala have accused the government of adopting a “legal ruse” to limit Indigenous Peoples’ right to be consulted on mining and hydroelectric projects. The Guatemalan Campesino Unity Committee declares that a new regulation: “not only violates the collective rights of indigenous people, it also violates and misinterprets international conventions in favor of the government and corporations whose only aim is to exploit our natural resources.” One company which has been at the centre of bitter disputes with communities is the Canadian Goldcorp. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd (US$4.3 million), Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc, and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust PLC.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10936.

Goldcorp hammered for abuses in Guatemala

Richard — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:52:13 +0000

Last week, Latin American human rights advocates and Indigenous Peoples’ representatives were in Vancouver, testifying to the devastating impacts that Canadian-owned mines are having on their lives, homes and territories. They levelled accusations specifically against Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala. Six per cent of shareholders in Goldcorp voted at the company’s annual general meeting on May 18 for a resolution to bring Goldcorp into compliance with international law, including an order by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued in May 2010.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/10918.

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd (US$4.3 million), Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc, and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust PLC.

Pressure builds on Goldcorp, just before its AGM

Richard — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:21:03 +0000

This week, two Goldcorp shareholders will challenge other investors to back their resolution, calling for a halt to the Canadian company’s Marlin mine operations in Guatemala. Fifteen US congressional representatives have also expressed “serious concerns” about the mine, urging Goldcorp to urgently address “the ongoing human rights, health, and environmental concerns of the indigenous communities”.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10901.

A message to GoldCorp shareholders: the Guatemalan people need your votes

Goldcorp is hosting its annual general meeting in Vancouver this week. Shareholders will be asked to vote on whether the Canadian mining company, listed on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, should temporarily suspend operation of the Marlin mine, a particularly notorious open-pit gold mine in Guatemala. Two shareholders put forward the proposal on the basis of mounting evidence to suggest that the Marlin mine is degrading the water and land of the Maya Mam indigenous communities, and is operating on their ancestral lands without their consent.

See http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/communityofinterest/archive/2011/05/17/a-message-to-goldcorp-shareholders-the-guatemalan-people-need-your-votes.aspx.

International Human Rights Program at University of Toronto critiques GoldCorp’s Human Rights Policy

Actions Speak Louder than Words: A Critical Analysis of GoldCorp’s Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility Policies is an authoritative report released by the International Human Rights Program (“IHRP”) at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. The report provides critical information to GoldCorp’s management and shareholders in advance of its AGM scheduled for Wednesday, May 18. 2011 in Vancouver B.C. At the AGM, shareholders will be asked to vote on an important resolution impacting the human rights of indigenous communities in Guatemala; this report, which provides an unbiased assessment of GoldCorp’s stated commitments to human rights, will be essential for shareholders deciding how to vote. In Actions Speak Louder than Words, the IHRP finds that, while GoldCorp’s Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility Policies are a step forward, they are deficient in key respects. The policies do not require GoldCorp to assess the human rights impact of projects at the outset, obtain independent assessments of human rights performance, or remedy harm caused. The policies also omit any mention of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and make no clear commitment to the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent. Notably, the policies are ambiguous in their application to the corporation itself, as a distinct legal personality beyond its employees.

See http://www.utorontoihrp.com/index.php/advocacy/media/81-ihrp-report-critiques-goldcorps-human-rights-policy-in-advance-of-may-18th-shareholders-meeting.

36 European Civil Society Organisations and Networks Ask Swedish and Norwegian Pension Funds to Support Shareholder Resolution
http://goldcorpoutofguatemala.com/2011/05/13/36-european-civil-society-organisations-and-networks-ask-swedish-and-norwegian-pension-funds-to-support-shareholder-resolution/

Canadian Government Abdicates Responsibility to Ensure Respect for Human Rights
http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/canadian-government-abdicates-responsibility-ensure-respect-human-rights

Call on Goldcorp to suspend Marlin mine

Richard — Thu, 12 May 2011 09:20:20 +0000

What you may not know about Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala

A shareholder resolution asking Goldcorp to suspend operations at its embattled Marlin mine in Guatemala’s western highlands has been circulated to shareholders and will be voted on at the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting on May 18th, 2011. The resolution was distributed in full to all of the company’s shareholders within its Management Information Circular, dated March 28th, 2011 and available on sedar.com. The company recommended that shareholders vote against the resolution.

See http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/what-you-may-not-know-about-goldcorps-marlin-mine-guatemala

Goldcorp is answering to emails sent asking for a resolution at Goldcorp next AGM calling for the suspension of the Marlin Mine. See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10893 and scroll down the page.

Goldcorp is a Candian company. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd (US$4.3 million), Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc, and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust PLC.

Argentinian university faculties reject mining hand-outs

Richard — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:11:51 +0000

There are growing concerns about financial donations from mining companies to Canadian university campuses. University faculties in Argentina have also been rejecting such corporate blandishments. In March 2011, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at Argentina’s National University of Tucumán became the twenty-seventh academic faculty to reject funds from the Alumbrera Mining company. Goldcorp has a 37.5% share in Alumbrera, which is operated as a joint venture with London-listed Xstrata and Toronto-based Yamana Gold. It was Goldcorp’s biggest source of earnings outside of Canada in 2010.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10834.

Violence Near Goldcorp Mine Underscores Need for Suspension

Richard — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:09:07 +0000

In the following letter to Guatemalan authorities and Goldcorp Inc., the Coalition Against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA) expresses its profound concern following reports of violence in the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán. CAMIGUA believes that the recent incident underscores an urgent need for the Guatemalan government to fully implement precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) last spring, including temporary closure of Goldcorp’s Marlin mine. In lieu of immediate government action, the coalition requests that Goldcorp voluntarily take this step and fulfill its stated commitment to respect human rights.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10772.

Concern over safety of Guatemalan mine critics

Richard — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:59:34 +0000

Urgent concern for safety of human rights defenders of San Miguel Ixtahuacán following peaceful protests

We denounce the human rights violations and abuses committed against peaceful protesters in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala.

The protest, demanding compliance with precautionary measures ordered by the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights regarding the Marlin mine, took place without incident during the day. In late afternoon, participants returning from the peaceful roadblocks were reportedly confronted and attacked by community development council (COCODE) members and mine workers in San José Ixcaniche.

See http://nisgua.blogspot.com/2011/02/urgent-concern-for-safety-of-human.html.

The Marlin Mine is operated by a subsidiary of Canadian mining company Goldcorp. Among its major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd (US$4.3 million), Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc, and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust PLC.

Stop Violence Against Opponents of Mine in Guatemala

Richard — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:37:22 +0000

Carmen Mejía works courageously to defend the human rights of marginalized Mayan communities in Guatemala. Her life is at risk because she has dared to speak out about a controversial gold mine and the impacts that local people have denounced.

See http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/339/287/195/?z00m=19909405.