Pacific Rim
v. El Salvador: Civil Society Organizations speak out as CAFTA Jurisdiction
Objection Decision is expected May 31, 2012
May 28, 2012
The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID) of the World Bank will decide if Pacific Rim Mining Corp., a Vancouver-based
multinational mining corporation, will be able to proceed with its arbitration
claims against the Government of El Salvador May 31, 2012. After being denied resource exploitation
permits, Pacific Rim relocated its Cayman Islands subsidiary Pac Rim Cayman LLC
to Nevada and filed a formal CAFTA investment suit. Pacific Rim seeks at
least $77 Million USD from El Salvador, a country in which half of the rural
population lives on less than $2 a day.[1]
The environmental and social justice groups Mesa Nacional frente a
la Mineria Metalica (National Roundtable Against Metals Mining) and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as other civil
society groups, have opposed mining and environmental and social upheaval at
local, national, and international levels. The IUCN and Mesa Nacional have released
official statements regarding the environment, violence, national sovereignty,
and the upcoming ICSID decision.
Richard Steiner is a conservation specialist and member of
IUCN. He conducted a Rapid Assessment /
Fact-finding Mission in El Salvador from January 20 – 28, 2010 at the request
of IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP).
Professor
Richard Steiner’s Statement:
The
people of El Salvador have spoken -- most clearly do not want metal mining in
their country, which carries with it a high environmental, social, and cultural
cost. It is my hope and expectation that the ICSID will do the right
thing, and rule in favor of El Salvador on this case. A sovereign
government must retain the sovereign right to self-determination, and that
includes deciding who, when, where, if, and under what conditions a particular
extractive industry project, such as metal mining, can be permitted. The
government of El Salvador, acting on behalf of the overwhelming majority of its
citizens, has decided that the Pacific Rim projects do not meet the nation's
self-determined development goals, and this must be upheld by the ICSID.
Granting permission to conduct mineral exploration does not carry with it
the implied consent to move forward to production, which seems to be what
Pacific Rim asserts. It would clearly be disastrous if the ICSID were to
rule against El Salvador on this issue, as it would alter the balance of power
between extractive industry companies and developing nations everywhere, in
favor of extractive industries. The ICSID must rule for El Salvador, in
my opinion.[2]
In 2010,
Steiner’s fact-finding mission confirmed serious human rights abuses on the
part of groups that supported mining in Cabañas, El Salvador. Steiner’s
fact-finding mission in El Salvador as documented in the IUCN CEESP report “El
Salvador – Gold, Guns, and Choice: The El Dorado gold mine, violence in Cabañas, CAFTA claims, and the national effort to ban
mining”
states that
It
is clear from speaking to local citizens in Cabañas (in the towns of San Isidro,
Sensuntepeque, Guacotecti, Trinidad, and Victoria), that there currently exists
a strategic campaign of violence, threat, and intimidation directed against
community leaders and others who oppose the opening of the El Dorado mine.
Seven people were murdered in the area last year [2009], most of who were
outspoken in their opposition to the mine, and/or otherwise associated with the
opposition to the mine.[3]
Steiner’s
report also confirms that
Residents
of Cabañas report that the
violence began and became epidemic just in the past few years, co-incident with
the increase in mining exploration activity and the company’s request to move
from exploration to development at El Dorado. Many residents and some
government officials allege a direct and/or indirect relationship between the
mining company and the recent violence. Local residents report that company
officials told their employees that local environmental leaders, in particular
members of the Environmental Committee of Cabanas, were to blame for their lack
of work.[4]
In January of this year, a group of delinquents attempted to
kidnap Father Neftalí Ruiz, the secretary of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas (Comité Ambiental
de Cabañas). After the attempted
kidnapping of Father Neftalí Ruiz,
the
Mesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metalica released a statement concluding:
To
the Salvadoran population in general, civil society organizations and the
international community that accompany the struggle against metals mining
projects in our country, we are stating that our struggle is not a crime: Our
cause is for the life, health, environment, and sustainability of our
country. The state, through its
institutions, should ensure that this type of industry should never be permitted,
and it should also ensure that the citizens’ rejection of these extractive
projects do not motivate persecution, threats or death. We roundly condemn the acts of violence
committed against father Neftalí Ruiz and other
anti-mining activists, and we say with even more conviction: NO TO METALS
MINING IN EL SALVADOR. YES TO LIFE.
A
la población salvadoreña en general, a las organizaciones sociales y a la
comunidad internacional que acompaña la lucha contra los proyectos de minería
metálica en nuestro país expresamos que nuestra lucha no es ningún crimen:
Nuestra causa es por la vida, la salud, el medioambiente y la sustentabilidad
de nuestro país. El Estado, a través de sus instituciones debe asegurar que en este país
no se permita jamás una industria de este tipo y además debe asegurar que el
rechazo ciudadano contra estos proyectos extractivos no sean motivo de
persecución, amenaza o muerte. Condenamos rotundamente los actos de violencia
cometidos contra el Padre Neftalí Ruiz y contra otros activistas antimineros y
decimos con aún mayor convicción: NO A LA MINERÍA METÁLICA EN EL SALVADOR. SÍ A LA
VIDA.[5]
Geologists and environmental scientists have warned of the
detrimental environmental impacts mining will have in El Salvador. In 2010 the Ombudsman for the Defense of
Human Rights (Procuraduría para la
Defensa de los Derechos Humanos) issued a statement that cited a study published
by the Center for Investigation on Investment and Trade (CEICOM) entitled “Socio-environmental
Impacts of Exploitation of Gold and Silver Mines in the Municipality of
Sensuntepeque, Department of Cabañas.”
The
study shows that the mine will use 2 tons of cyanide per
day, and that once the exploitation phase is over available water will have
suffered important chemical modifications as a result of the contamination of
surface waters around the mine; these changes include higher levels of acidity
and heavy metals from hydrocarbons. Moreover, these surface waters will leach
into the subterranean water, filtered through cracks in the terrain until
reaching the aquifer.[6]
The upcoming ruling by the ICSID will carry
with it immense environmental and national sovereignty implications.
Civil society organizations continue to study the local ecology, educate
locals on the matter and raise awareness about metals mining around the
globe. May 31, the ICSID will have the chance to determine whether local
costs will stand in the way of short-term corporate profits.
[1] Dirección General de
Estadística y Censos, “Encuesta de Hogares de Propósitos Múltiples 2008,” June
2009, Available at:
http://www.digestyc.gob.sv/Publicaciones/PUBLICACION%20EHPM2008.pdf
[3] Richard Steiner,
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Commission on
Environmental Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP), “El Salvador: Gold, Guns,
and Choice,” February 2010, 17
[5] “La Mesa Nacional frente
a la Minería Metalica en El
Salvador denuncia nuevas agresiones,” the entire statement can
be found at:
http://es.oxfamamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/comunicado_23012012_nueva_amenazas.pdf
[6]Richard
Steiner, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Commission
on Environmental Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP), “El Salvador: Gold, Guns,
and Choice,” February 2010, at 27 citing
Center for Investigation on Investment and Trade (CEICOM), “Socio-environmental
Impacts of Exploitation of Gold and Silver Mines in the Municipality of
Sensuntepeque, Department of Cabañas.” Available at:
http://www.infomine.com/publications/docs/Steiner2010.pdf
