Document - Guatamala: Public Statement on Tahoe Resources’ Escobal Project
8 May 2013
AI Index: AMR 34/009/2013
Public Statement on Tahoe Resources’ Escobal Project
In advance of the Annual General Meeting of Tahoe Resources to be held on 9 May, 2013 in Vancouver, Amnesty International urges the company to acknowledge mounting human rights concerns associated with its Escobal Silver Mine project in Guatemala. Amnesty International further calls on the company’s investors to recognize the impact on human rights of the Escobal project and, in turn, insist that the company take immediate corrective action consistent with international human rights standards.
Research conducted by Amnesty International, including corresponding with the company, reveals significant gaps between what the company is reporting to investors and the reality on the ground. Recent tension and violence around the site of the Escobal Project highlight failures of the Guatemalan state obligation to protect the human rights of local communities, and Tahoe Resources’ failure to respect those rights. Amnesty International is confident that investors – and the Canadian public which owns shares in Tahoe Resources through the Canada Pension Plan – will agree that it is crucial that this project addresses environmental risks, ensures affected communities are consulted and respects the rights of people to peacefully protest such projects.
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Amnesty International Canada’s Business and Human Rights campaigner, Tara Scurr, says, “Investors should note that rather than respond to community concerns head-on, Tahoe Resources has instead blamed social unrest over the last six months on ‘paid’, ‘outside’, and ‘criminal’ influences. Such discourse only serves to inflame an already tense situation. By painting the protest movement as the product of criminal activity, Tahoe Resources shows it either fails to understand or does not take seriously the many real concerns that its mining project raises.” (For Tahoe Resources’ response, see appendix.)
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders has expressed serious concerns about the growing characterization of human rights defenders as terrorists and trouble-makers by State and non-State actors. She reports that such accusations are regularly used to delegitimize and impede the work of defenders and increase their vulnerability. Accusations like these easily lead to highly insecure environments where further attacks are more likely to occur.
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http://amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR34/009/2013/en/33858b4f-d240-46c1-b30d-f145ca780fab/amr340092013en.html
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