mining
India: Government must stop bauxite mine and refinery expansion until human rights are addressed
Monday, February 8, 2010 - 18:22February 8, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 2010-02-08 18:22AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
February 9 2010
India: Government must stop bauxite mine and refinery expansion until human rights are addressed
(Delhi) Indian authorities have given local communities scant or misleading information about the potential impact of a proposed alumina refinery expansion and mining project to be operated by subsidiaries of UK-based company Vedanta Resources in Orissa, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
The Amnesty International report, Don’t Mine Us out of Existence: Bauxite Mine and Refinery Devastate Lives in India documents how an alumina refinery operated by a subsidiary of UK-based FTSE 100 company Vedanta Resources in Orissa, is causing air and water pollution that threatens the health of local people and their access to water.
“People are living in the shadow of a massive refinery, breathing polluted air and afraid to drink from and bathe in a river that is one of the main sources of water in the region,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan, Amnesty International’s researcher on South Asia. “It is shocking how those who are most affected by the project have been provided with the least information”
Adivasi (Indigenous), Dalit, women and other marginalised communities in the remote part of Orissa where the refinery is located have described to Amnesty International how authorities told them that the refinery would transform the area into a Mumbai or Dubai.
The Orissa State Pollution Control Board has documented air and water pollution from Vedanta Aluminium’s refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa. Amnesty International found that the pollution threatens the health of local people and their access to clean water yet there has been no health monitoring.
“We used to bathe in the river but now I am scared of taking my children there. Both my sons have had rashes and blisters.” a local woman told Amnesty International. The organization recorded many similar accounts from people living around the refinery.
Despite these concerns and the environmentally sensitive location of the refinery near a river and villages, the government is considering a proposal for a six-fold expansion of the refinery. Neither the Indian authorities nor Vedanta have shared information on the extent of pollution and its possible effects with local communities.
The Orissa Mining Corporation and another Vedanta Resources subsidiary also plan to mine bauxite in the nearby Niyamgiri Hills. The proposed mine threatens the very existence of the Dongria Kondh, an 8,000 strong protected indigenous community that has lived on the Niyamgiri hills for centuries. The hills are considered sacred by the Dongria Kondh and are essential for their economic, physical and cultural survival, yet no process to seek the community’s informed consent has been established.
A Dongria Kondh man told Amnesty International, “We have seen what happens to other Adivasis when they are forced to leave their traditional lands, they lose everything.”
“The people of Orissa are among the poorest in India and their health is being threatened by pollution from the refinery. Their voices are being ignored by Vedanta Resources and its partner companies as well as by Orissa’s government. There has been inadequate consultation with local people about the changes on the ground and yet it’s their lives and futures which hang in the balance,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan.
Amnesty International is calling on the Government of India and Vedanta Resources to ensure that there is no expansion of the refinery and mining does not go ahead until existing problems are resolved. Amnesty International is also calling for full consultation with local people and for the Indian authorities to set up a process to seek the free, prior and informed consent of the Dongria Kondh.
Notes to Editors:
• The alumina refinery in Lanjigarh is operated by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd. Vedanta Resources owns 70.5 per cent of Vedanta Aluminium and Sterlite India Ltd. owns the remaining 29.5 per cent. Vedanta Resources owns 59.9 per cent of Sterlite India and has management control of the company. The mining project would be operated by a joint venture, the South-west Orissa Bauxite Mining Corporation, involving Sterlite India (74 per cent) and the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation (26 per cent).
• The Dongria Kondh are an adivasi (Indigenous community) and were described as ‘endangered’ by India’s Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
• Under international law, the government of India has an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights including the rights to water and health and to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples over the lands and territories they traditionally occupy. The obligation to protect requires measures by states to ensure that other actors (such as companies) do not undermine or violate human rights. Government failure to protect human rights does not absolve companies from responsibility for their operations and the impact of those operations on human rights. Companies should – at minimum – respect all human rights.
• This report is part of Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign aims to mobilise people all over the world to demand that governments, big corporations and others who have power, listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit www.demanddignity.org
Papua New Guinea: Investigation into police conduct in Porgera must be impartial
Thursday, February 4, 2010 - 21:05February 4, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2010-02-04 21:05Papua New Guinea: Investigation into police conduct in Porgera must be impartial
Amnesty International today questioned the impartiality of a proposed police investigation into alleged forced evictions near the Porgera gold mine following media reports that the Police Commissioner dismissed allegations of police misconduct.
"It is essential that such an investigation be transparent, effective, impartial and independent, and the results clearly based on the evidence," said Shanta Martin, Amnesty International's mining and human rights specialist. "It should not be launched by the police with a predetermined objective of clearing the police of misconduct."
On 4 February 2010, Papua New Guinea’s Police Commissioner, Gari Baki, was reported in the media to have said that he might order a police investigation so as to refute claims that people in Porgera were the victims of police violence. He reportedly dismissed evidence of illegal evictions of people living near the Porgera gold mine and police violence as "fabricated".
Background
On 2 February 2010, Amnesty International launched its report, Undermining Rights: Forced evictions and police brutality around the Porgera gold mine, Papua New Guinea, which documents police violence and the forced eviction by police of families living alongside the Porgera gold mine.
Amnesty International also has concerns regarding ongoing support to the police by companies involved in the mine after the companies became aware of police misconduct in the area. The mine is 95% owned and operated by subsidiaries of the largest gold mining company in the world, Canadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation, as part of the Porgera Joint Venture.
Democratic Republic of Congo: End persecution of human rights defenders
Thursday, February 4, 2010 - 20:11February 4, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2010-02-04 20:11Amnesty International today called on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to protect human rights defenders, who continue to be arbitrarily detained by security agencies and subjected to an alarming number of death threats.
In its briefing "Human Rights Defenders under attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo", Amnesty International documents the persecution faced by eight prominent human rights defenders in the DRC, harassment the organization fears will intensify in the build-up to 2011 presidential and national elections.
"The government of the DRC must uphold the right to freedom of expression and ensure that Congolese human rights defenders are protected from threats, arbitrary arrests and assault, said Andrew Philip, Amnesty International's researcher on the DRC. "Many human rights defenders are detained simply because they speak out on behalf of others."
Golden Misabiko, head of the Katanga branch of a national human rights organization, was arrested by the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) in July 2009 after his organization published a report alleging that government security officials were involved in illegal mining of highly radioactive uranium and other minerals from the Shinkolobwe mine, Katanga province.
Following detention for almost a month, Golden Misabiko was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison with eight months' suspended after being found guilty of "publication of false information", a conviction that his lawyers are seeking to overturn. Golden Misabiko suffered severe stomach pains, persistent vomiting and psychological trauma brought on by the appalling conditions of detention, where he was forced to pay the guards to sleep outside on a piece of cardboard to avoid an overcrowded and dirty cell.
Robert Ilunga, a community advocate and head of a human rights NGO in Kinshasa, was arrested by the ANR and held incommunicado for nine days in September 2009 after the NGO issued a press release denouncing harsh working conditions endured by workers at a gravel-making company in Kasangulu, in the province of Bas-Congo.
The ANR in particular, frequently arrests, detains and intimidates human rights workers in the DRC. Amnesty International receives regular reports of torture and other ill-treatment taking place in ANR detention facilities.
"Human rights defenders in the DRC play a crucial role in drawing attention to human rights abuses but intensifying harassment makes it increasingly difficult for them to carry out this important work," said Andrew Philip.
Leaders of four human rights organizations based in the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi, Katanga province, received anonymous and increasingly sinister SMS messages since mid-September, when they led a local campaign in support of the then detained Golden Misabiko.
"I do not know how much longer I can bear the stress and mental suffering caused by these threats, but every day I resist the temptation to just return to normal life with my family, because I refuse to be intimidated into stopping my work," a human rights defender told Amnesty International.
One of the four human rights leaders who campaigned for Golden Misabiko, Grégoire Mulamba, was abducted on 18 October 2009 on his way home from work. The taxi that was supposed to take him home (suddenly) diverted from the usual route and as Grégoire Mulamba challenged the driver, one of the passengers pushed a gun into his ribs and blindfolded him. Stopping after 20 minutes, Grégoire Mulamba feared he would be killed but was instead dumped in a cemetery on the outskirts of Lubumbashi.
The other three leaders, Timothee Mbuya, Emmanuel Umpula and Dominique Munongo, fled Lubumbashi in the end of September 2009, fearing for their lives. All three returned to the city in October to continue their human rights work, despite an escalating stream of death threats.
Congolese human rights defenders have told Amnesty International that harassment and arrests directed towards them have increased sharply throughout 2009, reports echoed by UN observers in the country.
A number of states expressed concern over the situation of human rights defenders in the DRC and made recommendations to the DRC government during the UN's Universal Periodic Review of the DRC that took place in Geneva in December 2009.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is an opportunity for the UN Human Rights Council to examine the human rights record of all member states. Each country is reviewed every four years with the aim of ensuring states are meeting all of their human rights obligations.
The DRC has since indicated that it supports the UPR recommendations to "take further measures to protect the rights of human rights defenders..."; to "ensure that crimes and violations against human rights defenders and journalists are effectively investigated and prosecuted" and to "adopt an effective legal framework for the protection of human rights activists in line with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders".
Amnesty International urges the government to make these changes in law and practice promptly.
Police violence and illegal evictions near Papua New Guinean gold mine must be investigated
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 - 16:51February 2, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2010-02-02 16:51The government of Papua New Guinea must investigate the conduct of police who burnt down homes and threatened people with guns while illegally evicting them from land next to one of the biggest gold mines in the country, Amnesty International said today.
Amnesty International’s report, Undermining Rights: Forced evictions and police brutality around the Porgera gold mine, Papua New Guinea, documents police violence and the forced eviction by police of families living alongside the Porgera gold mine.
Amnesty International also has concerns regarding ongoing support to the police by companies involved in the mine after the companies became aware of the police activity in the area.
The mine is 95% owned and operated by subsidiaries of the largest gold mining company in the world, Canadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), as part of the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV). PJV supplied accommodation, food and fuel to the police under an agreement that PJV claims was conditional on the police abiding by national laws and international standards, including the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Amnesty International does not allege that either company is responsible for the police violence or the forced evictions, however it believes Barrick and PJV failed to respond adequately when company personnel became aware of the police activity in the area.
"Instead of being able to rely on the police to protect them, people who were living next to the mine’s facilities have been the victims of human rights violations by police who illegally burnt down their houses and destroyed their belongings and gardens," said Shanta Martin, Amnesty International's mining and human rights specialist.
The report documents how between April and July 2009 police raided villages in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, burning down at least 130 buildings and forcing out families from their homes, including young children, pregnant women and the elderly.
Residents of the area where most of the evictions took place, Wuangima, told Amnesty International that they had no prior warning that their homes would be demolished and in many cases had no opportunity to take their belongings before their houses were burnt. No alternative housing had been provided to them by the government and many families from the area now depend on their relatives for shelter and food.
"As soon as PJV became aware that the police were burning down people’s homes right next door to the mine’s facilities, they should have recorded and reported the activity to the Papua New Guinean authorities and urged an investigation, as recommended by the Voluntary Principles," said Shanta Martin. "Instead, PJV is continuing to support the police, and Barrick has publicly defended the police activity."
Amnesty International’s report urges the Papua New Guinean government to carry out a full investigation into forced evictions and police violence. The report urges the prosecution of those responsible, and for victims to be provided with remedies. It also calls on Barrick and PJV to provide information regarding the police conduct to the Papua New Guinean authorities and to urge the authorities to investigate.
Background
On 11 May 2009, Amnesty International issued a Public Statement regarding police activity that resulted in the forced evictions of people living in villages in Porgera.
On 16 June 2009, Barrick publicly condemned Amnesty International’s public statement as "ill conceived and erroneous" and claimed that the buildings which had been burnt down were only temporary makeshift shacks and crude shelters inhabited by a transient population.
Between 18 August 2009 and 2 October 2009, Amnesty International conducted further investigations into the human rights of those affected by the forced evictions, including by undertaking a visual inspection of the burnt remains of houses and conducting 27 meetings involving over 180 people. Amnesty International’s further enquiries confirmed that at least 130 buildings were destroyed, including solidly constructed permanent homes, however, it was not possible to determine exactly how many houses were destroyed and how many people were affected.
In early November 2009, Amnesty International communicated the initial findings of its research to the Papua New Guinean government and to Barrick and PJV. At a meeting between Amnesty International, Barrick and PJV on 3 December 2009 and in correspondence on 7 December 2009, Barrick acknowledged that earlier public statements by the company that only temporary structures were burnt down were inaccurate. Barrick and PJV told Amnesty International that they now agree that further investigation is warranted. As at 10 December 2009, despite requests from Amnesty International for the companies to urge an independent investigation, neither company had done so.
Notes to Editors:
· Undermining Rights is launched as part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity campaign which aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty. The campaign will mobilise people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights. For more information visit http://demanddignity.amnesty.o
· Through the Demand Dignity campaign, launched in May 2009, Amnesty International is calling on governments globally to take all necessary measures, including the adoption of laws and policies that comply with international human rights law, to prohibit and prevent forced evictions.
Peru - The government revokes another media licence in the Amazonas region
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 19:50January 20, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2010-01-20 19:50
Reporters Without Borders today condemned as an act of political revenge the cancellation of a television station's licence, seven months after the same action was taken against radio La Voz de Bagua Grande, also in the Amazonas region.
Televisión Oriente, based in Yurimaguas in the north-east, lost its broadcast licence on 15 January on the order of the Transport and Communications Ministry (MTC). Like La Voz de Bagua, Televisión Oriente fulfilled all the legal conditions for its licence, granted in 2006. And in both cases the authorities claimed that they had not met deadlines for operational checks.
This reason is obviously not valid. The last inspection of the aerials was done in 2007, and another was due between now and May, stressed Roberto Pereira, quoted by the Institute for Press and Society. The administration is obviously not observing its own deadlines and this clousure derives from low political revenge on the part of the authorities, the organisation said.
Interior minister, Mercedes Cabanillas, publicly threatened to close La Voz de Bagua and Radio Oriente, for their alleged “support” for violence against the security forces after demonstrations in June by the indigenous population against mining rights granted to multinationals on ancestral lands. The government has since then been looking for culprits among the media.
In another such case, Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco, editor of the weekly Nor Oriente in Bagua, was sentenced on 12 January to one year in prison for “defamation“. In reality, the journalist paid the price for his stance in favour of the indigenous population, and for whom his son, a lawyer, has taken up the case since June.
(Photo: CNR)
Salvador - After three environmentalists murdered, community radio threatened over its support for their cause
Friday, January 8, 2010 - 17:33January 8, 2010 by Anonymous
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2010-01-08 17:33
Reporters Without Borders is disturbed to learn that Radio Victoria, a community radio station in the northern department of Cabañas that has been supporting environmental activists in their opposition to a Canadian company's local gold-mining operations, has received renewed threats just days after two more activists were murdered at the end of last month.
“We support the call by the people of Cabañas and we request a thorough and independent investigation aimed at identifying those responsible for these threats,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It is vital that Radio Victoria's journalists, who are playing an essential reporting role for both the local population and the international community, are given protection.”
The threats first began last July when Radio Victoria's journalists condemned the abduction, torture and murder of environmental activist Gustavo Marcelo Rivera. The police quickly concluded that his death was a routine murder despite overwhelming evidence that it was linked to his leading role in opposing the Cabañas operations of Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Corp.
Ades Santa Marta (http://adessantamarta.codigosu
The threats against Radio Victoria resumed just a few days after the 20 December murder of Ramiro Rivera Gómez, a member of the Cabañas Environmental Committee (Comité Ambiental de Cabañas), who had survived an earlier attack in July, when he was shot eight times. The person who was arrested and jailed for the August attack had already been convicted of violence against environmental protesters and is reported to be a former Pacific Rim employee.
Another member of the same committee, Dora “Alicia” Recinos Sorto, was gunned down on 26 December. She was eight months pregnant and, at the time of the shooting, was carrying her two-year-old son, who was injured in the leg.
An anonymous email was sent to several Radio Victoria employees claiming responsibility for Rivera Gómez's murder and announcing that the next victim could be “a presenter, a reporter or anyone else working for this damned radio station.”
A politically committed station, Radio Victoria has condemned both the murders and shortcomings of the police investigations. The National Civilian Police (PNC) insists that the three murders are not linked and are all just cases of routine criminal activity. The police still have not conducted a proper investigation into the threats against Radio Victoria either.
Reporters Without Borders interviewed Radio Victoria journalist Ludwin Iraheta.
Why has Radio Victoria been the target of threats?
Radio Victoria has adopted a position of support for the environmental activists and has allowed the acknowledged leaders of the opposition to the mine to speak on the air. Community radio stations defend the community. We have been getting threats for six years for criticising fraud and corruption.
What has been the authorities' response to these threats?
The station's staff has been reporting these threats to the police for months. The authorities say have no clues as to their origin. They tell us they are investigating, but in our view there has not been any investigation.
The authorities said Alicia Recinos was not an environmentalist. We find that outrageous. She and her husband were among the acknowledged leaders of the struggle against the mine. A few months ago, her husband was attacked by the man who attacked Ramiro Rivera the first time, in July, and who is now in prison.
Are you being given any protection?
Some journalists are given protection but it is not common. At night, there are policemen on the premises but the threats continue.
Do you have any idea who is responsible? What interests are at state?
There is a lot of gold in the department of Cabañas. We do not know who is responsible for these threats, but there are a lot of interests at stake in the mine – political and business interests. A few years ago, Pacific Rim offered us 8,000 dollars to shut up, but we refused.
What impact would the mine have on the community?
The main problem in Cabañas is water. The mine uses powerful chemical products. And 32 per cent of the country's water is already polluted. The water had been polluted here too ever since there have been mines. Thanks to the campaign waged by the community, the mining activities have stopped for the time being. But the people want a law banning mining.
What are you going to do? Are you thinking of suspending your activities?
Many national and international organisations support us, and that motivates us to continue working. They will have to think twice before attacking us, because many organisations are on the alert and are monitoring what is happening. We are part of the people and we will continue to cover its struggles.
Farmville makes top trend on Facebook
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 00:16The popular flashgame entered the status of so many people that it made the "Facebook's top status trends of 2009". The game is highly addictive and is one of the most used apps and
Avatar - Movie Trailer
Friday, December 11, 2009 - 10:43
Avatar looks spectacular. I am a big science fiction fan, I love stories about new worlds that is far and above that I can imagine.
BIPPA proves South Africa's complacency toward farm invasions
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 11:58
By signing the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) has shown the world that they agree with the invasion of farms in Zimbabwe but no one is taking notice.
Kimberley Process meeting in Namibia - Zimbabwe's blood diamonds
Monday, November 2, 2009 - 16:10
This week all of the members of the Kimberley Process is meeting in Swakopmund, Namibia November 2 - 5 to mainly discuss what to do about Zimbabwe's diamonds.
