The decision to grant a retrial presents further evidence of the deterioration of independence within El Salvador’s judicial system, and its politicization to punish and weaken the struggle to uphold the Law of Prohibition of Metals Mining of 2017.

Critic says scientific and technical support also needed to create inventory of potential sites

The Daily Press

Ontario’s Ministry of Mines announced Thursday it is introducing a new regulation under the Mining Act that would make it easier to recover residual metals and minerals from mine waste that could be found at operating, closed or abandoned mine sites.

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“We felt displaced in our own homes,” says Rosa Masapanta, the President of the small farmers’ cooperative Associación Flor de Caña in northern Ecuador.

The following statement was originally issued in Spanish by the Xinka Parliament and is available here. English translation by Ellen Moore at Earthworks. 

The State Must Guarantee that Consultation Processes with Indigenous Peoples are Free and in Good Faith

We are posting this SOMO longread by Bart-Jaap Verbeek and Abdurrahman Erol as a guest blog.

On October 27, 2024, the Ecuadorian military entered the small parish of Palo Quemado in northern Ecuador, temporarily militarizing the community for the third time in less than two years.

Uphold October 18 Ruling of Innocence in Trial of Five Prominent Water Defenders

San Salvador – On October 28, the Salvadoran Attorney General opted to appeal the historic verdict in the trial of the five prominent Salvador water defenders, who were arrested on trumped-up charges back in January 2023.

Winneway Aki - In response to the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) press release dated October 21, 2024, Long Point First Nation (LPFN) wishes to affirm its unceded traditional territory and assert its Anicinabe rights and titles during the BAPE hearings concerning the Falco Horne 5 Mining Project. LPFN hosted the BAPE panel on October 3, 2024, at the Amo Ososwan School Gymnasium in Winneway, where LPFN members and leadership voiced strong concerns about the impacts of the project on Anicinabe lands and resources.

For over a decade, MiningWatch Canada and the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) have advocated for an effective and independent ombudsperson with the powers to compel documents and witness testimony, in an effort to hold Canadian companies accountable for abuse at their operations overseas. 

The following was translated into English by MiningWatch Canada and Common Frontiers. The original in Spanish is here.

Once again, we mobilize massively like rivers of life through the streets of Bucaramanga, demanding the full protection of the Santurbán páramo and forests, our main water source which is being threatened by the voracious appetite of transnational companies and their mining projects.