17 July 2024, 12:05pm EDT

Organizations Ask Canadian Embassy to Uphold Human Rights Commitments in Panama

First Quantum Minerals Panama Environment Human Rights Militarisation/Criminalisation
Source:
Foundation for Integral Community Development and the Conservation of Ecosystems in Panama (FUNDICCEP) – National Network in Defence of Water – Warriors of the Sea – Enough is Enough – MiningWatch Canada

(Panama City, Panama) Representatives of social movements and environmental organizations met today to deliver a report, Human Rights Violations, Abuses, and Incidents Registered During the Protests Against the Mining Contract in Panamá, October-November 2023, to the Canadian Embassy in Panama City. 

Delegates from Foundation for Integral Community Development and the Conservation of Ecosystems in Panama (FUNDICCEP), the National Network in Defence of Water, Warriors of the Sea, and Enough is Enough, among other socio-environmental movements in the country, went to the Canadian Embassy to deliver a physical copy of the report. 

The report documents hundreds of injuries, four deaths, more than 1,500 cases of arbitrary detentions, and 23 cases of activists and protesters who face criminalizations and legal trials that all occurred during and following protests last year. The report also documents other punitive measures and repression towards groups, such as teachers and union members, that participated in the national strike. 

Environmental defenders in Panama have been criminalized and investigated, while First Quantum, a Toronto-based mining company that acquired the mining project in 2013, has committed devastating environmental harms in its illegitimate operations. Supreme Court decisions have declared two consecutive mining contracts unconstitutional.

“Panamanians have repeatedly and firmly said that they do not approve of the development of metallic mining, as biodiversity and water are the most important resources in the country,” said Damaris Sanchez Samudio of FUNDICCEP. “That said, we denounce and reject all forms of aggression towards environmental defenders for protecting forests, rivers, coasts and mangroves, and for protecting life.”

Despite the human rights abuses documented in the report, the Canadian government has stated that it supports First Quantum, and First Quantum has said it hopes to reach an agreement to reopen the mine with the new government-elect of Panama. 

Faced with this insistent mining lobby that ignores the voice of the Panamanian people, the delegates demand that the Canadian government:

  1. Activate the Voices at Risk guidelines to protect the rights of environmental defenders who have been criminalized and investigated in Panama due to the protests against the imposition of the project of Minera Panama, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals. 
  2. Put out an official statement in support of the environmental laws of the country, and of the right to protest, and state that it does not support the criminalization of environmental defenders.
  3. Seek information about the criminalization and judicialization processes of defenders, participate in the ongoing hearings and recommend that the company stop undertaking investigations against Panamanian citizens who have exercised their right to protest.
  4. Withdraw economic, political and commercial support for the company Minera Panamá for the grave environmental damages occurred, for violations to the Constitution of Panama and for influencing the criminalization of social protest in the country.
  5. Prioritize human rights and the rights of nature over those of companies. 
  6. Support the government of Panama in upholding the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice that declared Law 406 unconstitutional.

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