[evoz] action for El Salvador

Details

Published on Saturday, 27 June 2015 09:30

Written by editor

Dear CASC, This action alert was distributed at CAFE last night. Please read it & do what you can – postal letters, Emails, phone, fax or visit (next time you are in Vancouver) Thanks, Terry

Action for El Salvador

BACKGROUND

The government of El Salvador is being sued for $300 million by Oceana Gold, owner of Pacific Rim Mines, based in Vancouver. The company is suing in a little-known court of the WORLD BANK, the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the primary institution for handling the cases that companies file against sovereign states. It was set up 50 years ago to protect corporate investment. The government of El Salvador has declared a moratorium before 2009 on all foreign mining operations in that country- a country where 90% of the rivers are polluted.

Citizens and environmentalists fear that the proposed gold mine near the town of San Isridro may pollute on of the last clean rivers in the country. The company’s claim is more than the total amount of foreign aid El Salvador received last year. El Salvador says the company not only lacked environmental permits but also failed to prove it had obtained rights to much of the land covered by its request.

(photo:mural in San Isidro)

United Nations expert Alfred de Zayas recently expressed, “the impact that investor-state arbitrations have already had and will have on human rights is very worrisome,” warned Yanira Cortez, Deputy Attorney for the Environment for El Salvador’s Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office. “We know that just the threat of these lawsuits can force governments in the Global South – and even here in Canada – to go against the public interest when it comes to health and environmental protections.”

ACTION

Sign the petition http://action.sumofus.org/a/oceanagold-world-bank-tribunal/?sub=homepage

CONTACT: Dr. Jim Yonevg Kim. President, The World Bank1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433, USA. Phone: (202) 473-1000 Fax: (202) 477-6391,about this court and ask him to dismiss the case and honour the sovereign rights of El Salvador.

Contact: Oceana Gold Corporation, Suite 1910, 777 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC, V6K 1S4

T: 604 235 3360 E: // "'>This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. W: www.oceanagold.com