Declaration on the assassination of Aldemar Parra Garcia

Monday, January 23rd 2017 The undersigning organizations condemn the assassination of Aldemar Parra García and express our deepest condolences to his family. Facts On January 7, Aldemar was assassinated by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle on the route from El Hatillo to La Loma in broad daylight. He was a community leader and active trade unionist, until recently employed in the mine of Colombian Natural Resources (CNR). Parra leaves his wife and three children behind. Regional context The murder of Aldemar is not an isolated incident. Unfortunately, this murder fits a pattern of violence against civil society and their leaders that we see across Colombia and in the mining region of Cesar. According to the report ‘Civil society under Threat’, in Cesar at least 200 leaders became victims of threats, assaults and killings during the period 2012-2016. It is important to point out that all of these victims are social leaders whose efforts are considered by certain sectors of the Cesar population to be critical of the impact of mining activities in the region. Most of these acts are claimed by or carry the signature of neo-paramilitary groups, who claim to defend the interests of the mining companies and other economic actors in the region. For example, last September Néstor Iván Martínez, leader of an Afro-Colombian community resisting the expansion of the mines owned by the American mining company Drummond, was assassinated shortly after having been threatened by a neo-paramilitary group. Aldemar was an active member of the community of El Hatillo; a rural community that since 2010 has been involved in a lengthy process of involuntary resettlement with three mining companies. He was a family member of several community leaders who were critical towards a resettlement plan recently proposed by the mining companies. Since 2014 the community has reported an increasing number of security incidents, e.g. leaflets, text messages or phone calls threatening community members. Since September 2016, inhabitants of El Hatillo have reported the presence of unidentified armed men in the vicinity during the hours of darkness. The condemnation of the murder of Aldemar by Prodeco and Drummond (as a specific incident) is a first step, but more actions are necessary to effectively mitigate the violence against civil society in Cesar. We urge the Colombian authorities

• to not treat the assassination of Aldemar Parra Garcia as an isolated incident, but address it in the context of a pattern of acts of intimidation and violence directed against civil society in Cesar, and
• to undertake – in line with the peace agreements – effective actions to crack down on and prosecute the members of any illegal armed group that operates in the mining region of Cesar.

We urge the mining companies

• to publicly distance themselves from neo-paramilitary groups that claim to operate in their interests,
• to actively take up a role in assuring that the security of those that are critical of the impact of mining in Cesar is guaranteed, and
• to search for effective and just solutions for the impacts of mining on the local population in the region, including remediation of grave human rights violations in the recent past, and addressing dwindling livelihood opportunities and unhealthy and unsafe working  conditions.

  List of Signatories: (Organisation, Country) 350.org, International Network ABColombia, UK Acción Ecologica, Ecuador African Uranium Alliance, International Network AG Bergbau und Menschenrechte in Kolumbien – Berlin, Germany AGEH – Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Entwicklungshilfe, Germany Amigos de la Tierra España, Spain ASK – Arbeitsgruppe Schweiz-Kolumbien, Switzerland Asociación ambiental e cultural Petón do Lobo, Galicia, Spain Asociación gallega Cova Crea, Galicia, Spain Bocas de Ceniza Waterkeeper, Colombia Both ENDS, The Netherlands Buirer für Buir, Germany BUND – Friends of the Earth Germany, Germany BUND Sachsen, Germany BürgerBegehren Klimaschutz, Germany CALG – Coalition against Land Grabbing, Philippines CENSAT agua viva – Friends of the Earth Colombia, Colombia Center for Environment – Friends of the Earth BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina Christliche Initiative Romero, Germany CNV Internationaal, The Netherlands Coal Action Network, UK CoalSwarm, USA Colombia Caravana UK Lawyers’ Group, UK Colombia Solidaritet, Denmark Colombia Solidarity Campaign, UK ContraMINAcción, Galicia, Spain Cooperacción, Peru Dachverband der Kritischen Aktionäre, Germany Earth Law Center, USA Environmental Rights Action, Nigeria Facing Finance, Germany FIAN Deutschland, Germany FNV Mondiaal, The Netherlands Forschungs- und Dokumentationszentrum Chile-Lateinamerika, Germany Friends of the Earth Australia, Australia Friends of the Earth Canada, Canada Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWNI), UK Friends of the Earth International, International Network Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan Friends of the Siberian Forests, Russia FUgE Hamm, Germany GegenStrömung / CounterCurrent, Germany GIP-LAWS (Ghana Integrated Platform on Land, Water and Seed Struggles), Ghana Global 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria, Austria groundWork, Friends of the Earth South Africa, South Africa Informationsstelle Peru, Germany International Oil Working Group, International Network JA!Justica Ambiental – FOE Mozambique, Mozambique Kohleausstieg Berlin, Germany kolko – Menschenrechte für Kolumbien, Germany Kolumbiengruppe Hamburg, Germany Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme, UK Leave it in the Ground Inititative (LINGO), Mexico Les Amis de la Terre, France LIGA – Lüner Initiative gegen globale Armut, Germany Lock the Gate Alliance, Australia London Mining Network, UK Market Forces, Australia MISEREOR, Germany Network Movement for Justice and Development, Sierra Leone NOAH – Friends of the Earth Denmark, Denmark OCMAL – Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina, International Network PAS – Pensamiento y Acción Social, Colombia PAX, The Netherlands pax christi Solidarität Eine Welt, Germany philippinenbüro, Germany PowerShift, Germany Pro Natura – Friends of the Earth Switzerland, Switzerland Progressio, UK Re:Common, Italy Rettet den Regenwald, Germany Robin Wood, Germany Russian Social-Ecological Union – Friends of the Earth Russia, Russia Salva la Selva, Spain Sociedade Histórica e Cultural Coluna Sanfins, Galicia, Spain Solidarity Sweden – Latin America, Sweden SOMO, The Netherlands South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, South Africa Southern Africa Rural Women’s Assembly, South Africa terre des hommes – Hilfe für Kinder in Not, Germany The Gaia Foundation, UK The People’s Dialogue, International Network This Changes Everything, UK TNI – Transnational Institute, The Netherlands Umweltgewerkschaft Düsseldorf, Germany urgewald, Germany Verdegaia, Galicia, Spain Waterkeeper Alliance, International Network WEED e.V. – World Economy, Ecology & Development, Germany WoMin African Gender and Extractives Alliance, South Africa Yasunidos Ecuador, Ecuador Yasunidos Germany, Germany YLNM – Yes to Life, No to Mining, International Network Zelena Istra – Green Istria, Croatia