More than 100 Panamanian and international organizations and coalitions have submitted an open letter to Minister of International Commerce and Economic Development Mary Ng demanding the Canadian government withdraw all support for the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals and respect the will of Panamanians who say “Panama is not a mining country.”

The petition details how the Canadian government has stood by First Quantum Minerals this whole time, even as the company has failed to obtain a social license or the legal standing to operate, and despite the violence that marked protests across the country. Minister Ng has said that it’s her job to advocate in support of the Canadian company.

The Panamanian people, and collectives such as Panama is Worth More Without Mining and the Warriors of the Sea, will engage in various events this week to commemorate last year's nationwide protests that achieved a historic country-wide moratorium on the granting of new mining contracts, as the Supreme Court declared First Quantum's contract unconstitutional. They are demanding the closure of the mine and First Quantum’s withdrawal from their territory. Nationwide protests to denounce the mining contract between First Quantum Minerals and the Panamanian government began growing on October 23, 2023.

In a report published in May 2024, Panamanian organizations documented numerous human rights abuses that occurred during last year’s protests. These include: hundreds of reported injuries, four deaths, more than 1,500 cases of arbitrary detentions, and punitive measures and retaliation towards groups such as teachers and other unions that participated in nationwide strikes. Criminal charges against 21 people for their participation in last year’s protests were recently thrown out, but there are still three activists facing ongoing criminalization and legal charges in another region of the country.

Since the Panamanian government ordered the mine's closure in December 2023, Panamanians are concerned about the safe closure of the mine and reports of an unstable tailings facility. Furthermore, José Raul Mulino, Panama’s newly-elected president who took office in July 2024, has stated that he wants to “open the mine to close it.” In response, a recent statement from Panama is Worth More Without Mining said, “reopening the mine, far from financing its closure, would only increase the impacts and environmental risks, making the definitive closure that Panama deserves more expensive and postponed.”

The petition also demands that the Canadian government respect Panama’s sovereignty and abstain from using the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. After First Quantum’s contract in Panama was declared unconstitutional for a second time in 2023, the company sued Panama for millions of dollars through the ISDS system under the Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement.

The petition, the Panamanian public, and the Supreme Court have made it clear that First Quantum must close the mine in a safe and timely manner. Panamanian organizations and their international allies are calling on Minister Ng to ensure that First Quantum respects Panama’s Constitution and environmental regulations. The Canadian government must ensure that its companies are following the laws and legal decisions in the countries where they operate.

Organizational Statements:

Panamanian environmental organizations are committed to defending our territory. Our country’s biodiversity and natural resources are at risk due to weak institutions that are susceptible to endorsing development plans based on extractive activities, contradicting our image as a country that respects nature. Both human and environmental wellbeing are required for true sustainability. Listening to the will of the people is a key right, which is why we ask the Canadian government to respect the Supreme Court decision and stop this project, which represents an irreversible environmental impact for Panama. - David Samudio, Foundation for Integral Community Development and the Conservation of Ecosystems in Panama

Water is a resource that is key to life. For this reason we, as agroecological, peasant and Indigenous organizations, have denounced for decades the contamination, hoarding, and destruction of water resources. We ask that the Canadian people stand in solidarity with us and demand that their country stop investing in metallic mining in our country, because it leads to the destruction of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, the contamination of water resources, and the destruction of hectares of forest that are vital for our country. - Damaris Sánchez, National Network in Defence of Water Panama

The Canadian government cannot turn a blind eye to the widespread opposition to First Quantum's operations in Panama. Instead, it must ensure that First Quantum safely closes the mine, implements remediation plans for environmental harms, and does not use an unjust international arbitration system to bully the Panamanian government into letting it continue its harmful operations. This system claims to settle disputes between private companies and nation states, but it is often used by companies to punish governments for making decisions or enforcing regulations that protect its people or the environment. - Paulina Personius, Earthworks

One year later, the Panamanian environmental defenders who were part of historic protests to protect their land and waters from a Canadian mining company are still living with the injuries they sustained during the repression during the protests and facing criminal charges for exercising their right to protest. Their environmental struggle has come at an immense cost for them and their communities. Canada has the responsibility to uphold its international human rights obligations and must take action through its Voices at Risk guidelines through its Embassy in Panama to protect environmental defenders. - Viviana Herrera, MiningWatch Canada

For more information, contact:

• Damaris Sánchez, National Network in Defence of Water Panama: [email protected] or [email protected] 
• Viviana Herrera, Latin America Program Coordinator at MiningWatch Canada, MiningWatch Canada: [email protected] or +1 (438) 993-1264
• Paulina Personius, Earthworks, [email protected], +1 (202) 918-9640

For further information see:

• Report on human rights abuses that occurred during the protests