Achievements of the Sister Cities Network from October 2009 to October 2010

Sistering Successes

·         We brought 7 delegations from 7 committees, a total of 61 people, to El Salvador to learn and exchange ideas with their sistered communities.

·         We had 4 volunteers representing Sister Cities in El Salvador and one volunteer in the U.S. office

·         The New Jersey and San Isidro/Los Amates Sister City relationship was revived by their first delegation in over 5 years

·         We have continued to strengthen the CRIPDES National Sistering Space through bimonthly meetings with the National CRIPDES representative and 5 regional sistering representatives

·         We have supported and accompanied 8 regional sistering meetings

·         We have supported over 61 scholarship students in 5 regions

·         Two committees began committee-sister community phone calls

·         Five committees exchanged video greetings with their Sister City

·         We held an International Sistering Assembly on the anniversary of the murder of Archbishop Romero with 70 participants from five countries

 

Advances in the Fight Against Mining in El Salvador

·         Sister Cities helped organize the Allies Coalition, a group of over 15 organizations in the United States and Canada working in solidarity with the Salvadoran anti-mining movement

            In the Press

·         Press coverage in the United States, Canada, Spain, England, and Luxemburg as the result of press work done by the Allies Coalition and Sister Cities around violence towards anti-mining activists, including coverage in Democracy Now, the Nation, the Guardian, a New York Times syndicate and the Vancouver Sun

·         SC and the Allies Coalition wrote five press releases and presented them to the Salvadoran press and got significant radio and print coverage

            Urgent Actions

·         Over 63 phone calls and faxes to the Salvadoran Attorney General demanding thorough investigations for the assassinations of Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sortos Rodriguez and over 35 calls and faxes demanding justice in the case of Marcelo Rivera

·         An organizational sign on letter with 140 signatures calling for justice in the cases of violence in Cabañas addressed to the Salvadoran Attorney General

·         Dozens of calls, emails and faxes to the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador demanding a neutral stance in the ICSID case of Pacific Rim vs. the Government of El Salvador

·         Enough calls and faxes to convince the International Centre for Investment Disputes Settlements (ICSID) to live stream the first round of the Pacific Rim hearings in May.   This was the first time the ICSID has ever live streamed a case, and it allowed the Salvadoran anti-mining movement to watch the proceedings.

·         Calls to the Pacific Rim headquarters in Vancouver on the day of their shareholder’s meeting as well as Sister Cities staff presence in the protest outside

            Education and Advocacy

·         SC and the Democracy Center wrote a 45 page detailed corporate profile of Pacific Rim

·         Organized two virtual chats in which members of the Salvadoran anti-mining movement spoke about the current situation and answered viewers’ questions

·         SC and other ally organizations met at the State Department with the head of the Central American Desk to demand that the U.S. government not support Pacific Rim in the CAFTA proceedings.

·         SC and the Madison Committee formed a local coalition in the Wisconsin area to carry out a corporate campaign against Commerce Group

·         Support for six Salvadoran anti-mining activists on a speaking tour in the U.S. and Canada

·         Participation in more than 45 meetings of the anti-mining movement in El Salvador and over 10 protests, demonstrations, and vigils

Results of the work of Sister Cities, the Allies and the Salvadoran anti-mining movement:

·         Nine material and intellectual authors of the murders of Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sorto were arrested

·         Seven of the material authors of the murder of Marcelo Rivera were convicted

·         President Funes denounced the violence in Cabañas and committed himself to work towards justice

·         The Salvadoran government refused to issue any new mining permits

·         Multiple political parties have committed to support the anti-mining bill in the Legislative Assembly

·         El Salvador is poised to be the first country to ban metallic mineral mining in the world

·         The U.S. social movement successfully turned the anti-mining cause in El Salvador into an example of the failures of U.S. promoted free trade agreements

 

Achievements in Honduras Advocacy

·         SC is a founding member of the Honduras Solidarity Network and advised the network on how to implement an Urgent Fax Response Network

·         The SC network has participated in 7 Urgent Actions calling for a change in U.S. policy towards Honduras, an end to repression against activists and a denunciation of human rights violations in Honduras

·         SC organized a lobbying meeting at the State Department to express concerns over U.S. policy towards Honduras and to denounce human rights violations

·         SC organized an informal fact finding delegation to Honduras

·         Consistent education and outreach about the worsening situation in Honduras

 

Swift Responses to Natural Disasters

·          The network provided emergency support to CRIPDES and  communities affected by five hurricanes and tropical storms by fundraising $9,500 for disaster relief

·         We set up a General Disaster Relief Fund to ensure we are able to quickly respond to emergency situations