Appeal to Investigate Hudbay Minerals Role in Human Rights Violations

Appeal to Investigate Hudbay Minerals Role in Human Rights Violations

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July 19, 2010
 

This is an appeal from Rights Action, concerning Hudbay Minerals’ alleged role in serious Human Rights Violations of an Indigenous Mayan-Qeqchi community in Guatemala.

According to community testimony collected by Rights Action and students from the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in May 2010, the Canadian company is directly involved in violent, illegal forced evictions and the gang rape of several women from the community.

On July 7, 2010, Rights Action filed a formal Human Rights Complaint with the Canadian government demanding a full and impartial investigation into the allegation; a publicly-accessible report of their findings; and a set of conclusions and recommendations concerning “the actions and/or omissions” of everyone involved .

In their Appeal, Right Action asks people to write to their local Canadian MPs and any of the government bodies and officials the Complaint is directed toward, among them: the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board, which has $30,000,000 of pension funds invested in Hudbay Minerals (formerly Skye Resources).

For Background and more information, contact: Grahame Russell, Rights Action, info@rightsaction.org , 1-860-352-2448; Dr. Catherine Nolin, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Colombia, nolin@unbc.ca , (250) 961-5875

Formal Human Rights Violation Complaint To The Canadian Government:

Canadian Nickel Mining Company Directly Involved In Violent, Illegal Forced Evictions Of Mayan-Qeqchi Communities, Including Gang Rape Of Numerous Women Villagers

Dear friends,

Please write to you own politicians (in Canada) and to the government officials this Complaint is directed to, and demand that they take this demand seriously and follow-up on our demands.

Thank-you.

Grahame Russell, Rights Action, info@rightsaction.org , 1-860-352-2448
Dr. Catherine Nolin, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Northern British Colombia, nolin@unbc.ca , (250) 961-5875

– please forward this Complaint letter widely
– to get on/ off our listserv: www.rightsaction.org

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FORMAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION COMPLAINT TO THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT

Mr. Lawrence Cannon
Minister of Foreign Affairs
509-S Centre Block,
House of Commons,
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6, Canada
cannol@parl.gc.ca

5 July, 2010

Dear Minister Cannon,

On behalf of the University of Northern British Columbia’s 2010 Guatemala Delegation & Rights Action, we are formally submitting a human rights violation complaint with the Canadian Government. We submitted an earlier version of this complaint to the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala on May 25th, 2010 but have not received a reply. Therefore, we now submit this document to you directly.

As Canadian citizens we strongly request your immediate attention to the following issues surrounding the forced evictions of the Guatemalan Q’eqchi’ community of “Lote 8” near El Estor, Izabal, and the gang-rape of at least five women in this community.

These human rights violations were committed by the Guatemalan army and police, and private security guards in the direct employ of the Canadian mining company HudBay Minerals Inc., formerly known as Skye Resources, and its subsidiary, Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN).

On May 19, 2010, 11 Canadian delegates (signatories as noted below) collected the testimonies of “Lote 8” community members and accounted for the following human rights violations. The community allowed the UNBC students and Rights Action, a Canadian-American NGO with years of work in Guatemala, to collect their testimonies upon our arrival. It must be understood that the community indicated to us that these testimonies were one of the first public recounting of their shared experiences.

JANUARY 9TH 2007 – Hundreds of police/military soldiers/Skye Resources private security agents (who arrived in at least 80 pickup trucks, 2 commando trucks of military soldiers, and 3 private CGN trucks of private security) entered the remote community of Lote 8 in 85 vehicles with the intent of illegally and forcibly evicting the inhabitants. Community members were given 5 minutes to retrieve belongings and offered 300 Quetzales to destroy their own homes. Upon peaceful refusal, police/military soldiers and Skye Resources private security forces started shooting teargas, robbed homes, and set residences on fire with gasoline. In total 100 homes were destroyed. The villagers-from Grandparents to newborns-were forced to flee into the forests. All of their belongings, including clothes, bedding, food, cooking implements, etc, were either destroyed or stolen. With absolutely nowhere to go, the 100 families of Lote 8 spent the next week re-building minimal shelter, while scrounging for food and trying to recover some of the subsistence crops. During this week, Skye Resources helicopters regularly flew over their remote community.

JANUARY 17TH 2007 – Hundreds of police/military soldiers/Skye Resources private security agents again returned to the community to illegally and forcibly evict the community while male residents were away from Lote 8. They carried out the same plan of destruction as on January 9th. Moreover, members of the police/ military soldiers/ Skye Resources private security gang-raped female community members. At least two of the victims were pregnant at the time, and lost their babies due to the rapes and brutality.

The Canadian delegates took photographic, video and audio testimonies of 5 women who were raped and physically assaulted, and of multiple community members who recounted the two traumatic evictions carried out, they allege, on behalf of Skye Resources.

Based on the United Nation’s Universal Declarations of Human Rights and Freedoms the Act guarantees:

Article 3 – The rights to life, liberty and security of person;
Article 5 – No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;
Article 6 – The right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Though the UNBC and Rights Action concentrated our efforts on the most remote community of Lote 8, similar serious charges-including rape-have been made against the police, army, and private security guards that were carrying out the violent and illegal forced evictions in at least four other communities in 2006 and early 2007.

As Canadian citizens, we respectfully demand concrete actions from the Canadian Embassy Government on these human rights violations against the Guatemalan Community of Lote 8, as well as the other affected communities. Specifically, we demand that:

We believe the Canadian Government must carry out this investigation, based on the fact that: (1) the very authorities responsible for ensuring justice in Guatemala – the police and the military – were the perpetrators; (2) that the owners of the Guatemalan Nickel Company-then Skye Resources, now HudBay Minerals-are Canadian companies; and (3) that the Canadian government has played a proactive role in supporting the expansion of Canadian companies into Guatemala.

We ask that this formal complaint of human rights violations be taken with great seriousness and entrust that the Canadian Government will take every means necessary to ensure that the perpetrators of these human rights violations be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that full reparations and compensation be made to the victims of these crimes.

We look forward to hearing back from you about this serious human rights matter. We have extensive knowledge about the violations and harms caused by nickel mining interests in the El Estor region and would gladly share it with you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Catherine Nolin
Associate Professor of Geography UNBC
3333 University Way,
Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
nolin@unbc.ca , (250) 961-5875

Grahame Russell
Rights Action
552-351 Queen St. E,
Toronto, ON, M5A0in8
info@rightsaction.org , (860) 352-2448

Claudette Bois
Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES) PhD Candidate UNBC
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
boisc@unbc.ca , (250) 960-5934

Nathan Einbinder
MA NRES Candidate UNBC
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
nathaneinbinder@gmail.com , (619) 922-2996

John-Paul Laplante
B.Sc, B.I.T.
MA NRES Candidate UNBC
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
laplan0@unbc.ca , (250) 960-4348

Alexandra Pedersen
B.A. International Development
MA International Studies Candidate UNBC
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
peders8@unbc.ca , (250) 964-2603

Dana Pidherny
B.A Georgraphy UNBC
3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9
pidherny@unbc.ca , (250) 617-0731

Ashley Gill
B.A Geography Student UNBC
1434 Diefenbaker Drive, Prince George, BC, V2L 5A4
agill@unbc.ca , (250) 563-5215

Erica Henderson
B.A General Studies Student UNBC
2445 Panorama Crescent, Prince George, BC, V2K 4T9
hender4@unbc.ca , (250) 962-4650

Stephen John Porter
B.A Geography Student UNBC
6349 Driftwood Place, Prince George, BC, V2K 5B3
sporter@unbc.ca , (250) 962-0816

Miranda Seymour
B.A Geography Student UNBC
1918-B Vine Street, Prince George, BC, V2L 2W8
seymoum@unbc.ca , (250) 562-8552

CC:

Ambassador Leeann McKechnie
Canadian Ambassador to Guatemala
Canadian Embassy, Guatemala City
Edyma Plaza Building, 8th floor
13 Calle 8-44 Zona 10
(502) 2363-4348, gtmla@international.gc.ca

Dr. Marketa Evans
Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor
Office of the Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor
Suite 5110, 1 Front Street, Toronto, ON M5J 2X5
Fax: (416) 973-2140, csr-counsellor@international.gc.ca

Hon. John McKay, MP
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development,
Ottawa, ON
(613) 992-1447, mackayj@parl.gc.ca

Peter Julian, MP
NDP International Trade Critic, Rm 178, Confederation Bldg.,
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6,
juliap@parl.gc.ca

Peter Kent, MP
Minister of State of Foreign Affairs
125 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G2
(613) 992-0253, kentp@parl.gc.ca

Dr. James Lambert
Director General, Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, DFAIT
James.lambert@international.gc.ca

Canada Pension Plan (CPP), that has $30,000,000 of pension funds invested in HudBay Minerals
CPP Investment Board: csr@cppib.ca , 416-868-4075, 1-866-557-9510
Lisa A. Baiton, MBA, VP, Stakeholder & Government Relations, CPPIB, 1-416-868-6612, lbaiton@cppib.ca

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