President Juan Manuel Santos announced the arrival of 28,000 troops Tuesday in Colombia's southwestern Cauca department, where a recent surge in violence has forced thousands from their homes. The new arrivals will become part of the Southwestern Joint Command comprised of soldiers from the army's Third Division and special forces from Colombia's Air Force and Navy. The Colombian defense minister said he hoped military forces continued their collaboration with the department's police to combat illegal armed groups.
Read more
In recent months, Canadians have been infuriated to hear that their government is subsidizing profitable overseas mining operations by channelling international aid money into corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects of companies like Barrick Gold. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the political and economic support that the Canadian government provides to promote Canadian corporate interests abroad.
Read more
(Bucaramanga, Colombia) Late last week, the World Bank Group accepted a complaint and will evaluate its investment in Eco Oro Mineral’s Angostura mining project, a proposed large-scale gold mine located in a fragile, high-altitude wetland called the Santurbán páramo, which provides water to over 2.2 million Colombians.
Read more
The organizations listed below would like to call the following situation to the attention of national and international human rights organizations and the public. Over the past months, in the municipality of Tiquisio, in the department of Sur de Bolívar, paramilitary groups have increased their presence. This has had grave consequences for local residents. Facts:
Read more
Some 400 members of an indigenous community in southwestern Colombia occupied a military base Wednesday, demanding government forces leave the region, which has been plagued by increasing violence recently. The base is responsible for maintaining communication antennas in the area, and is located two hours from the troubled municipality of Toribio in the department of Cauca, the site of ongoing clashes between Colombia's Armed Forces and the FARC.
Read more
We are heeding a call from communities in the global south that have organized and are resisting the exploitive practices of the mega resource extractive industry. The organizations below, in solidarity with communities impacted by the Canadian extractive industry throughout the Americas call for a Continental Day of Action on August 1st, 2012 to demand an end to exploitative and unjust mining practices.
Read more
`The despoliation of the land is spreading itself, (while) foreign investments, such as the mining industy and the African palm culture, are strenghtening. The growth of these industries is directly related to the forced displacements of local populations. Approximately 32% of the 280 000 displaced people who registered in Columbia in 2010, were likely coming from zones where these two economic activities have progressed significantly.' Jorge Rojas, director of the Human Rights and Displacements Counsel.
Read more
Alfredo Molano keeps track of the controversy over the Rancheria River diversion. The diversion would allow multinationals to exploit 600 million tons of coal that lie beneath its course. For many centuries, the Guajira was considered a no man’s land: an unpopulated, deserted land where only the wind would blow. At one point there were pearls, but the Spaniards took them away. After, only cacti and loneliness remained. The indigenous people were classified as savages, therefore, it was lawful to kill them in order to defend trade and civilization. It was a wasteland.
Read more
On may 15th 2012 canadian governement tabled the first report on the impact of Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, as expected this was a non-report...
Read more
(Bucaramanga, Colombia) Today, local civil society groups and organizations in Bucaramanga, Colombia filed a complaint against the World Bank Group’s investment in Eco Oro Minerals’ Angostura mining project with the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent grievance mechanism of the International
Read more