Mar
Sister Cities
Anti-Mining Movement Cautiously Celebrates Commerce Group Case Victory
“It’s pretty outrageous that the government of El Salvador has been attacked for protecting the health and safety of its people,” said Al Gedicks, Member of the Midwest Coalition against Lethal Mining (MCLAM) and author of Resource Rebels. “If anything, it is Commerce Group who should be paying for the toxic legacy they have left behind.”
While the social movement in El Salvador together with the solidarity movement in the U.S. and Canada rejoice the victory, which U.S. press has called a result of “arcane legal technicalities,” they are also taking it with a grain of salt. The ICSID decided not to rule on the actual matter of mining and the revocation of permits. As the Sierra Club states in their press release “CAFTA’s flawed investment provisions allow companies to attack common sense public health and environmental laws.” In their recent press conference, the National Roundtable against Mineral Mining in El Salvador (the Mesa) expressed their concerns that the decision sets a troubling precedent for the Pacific Rim case – a Canadian company also suing the Salvadoran government to the tune of $77 million for not granting mining permits.
Meanwhile, the social movement prepares for the second round of hearings in the Pacific Rim case, which have been postponed until May. Seven organizations from the Mesa, with the help of the Center for International Environmental Law, have filed an amicus curie brief in the case. This document, which has been accepted as evidence by the ICSID, is a petition to submit written testimony and outlines the dangerous impact of mining in El Salvador. It argues that “the grassroots, peaceful opposition to Pac Rim’s proposed mine -and the government‟s response to it – are entirely legitimate and should be celebrated as a sign of representative democracy not punished with multi-million dollar lawsuits.”
For a full text of the ICSID decision click here: Commerce Group Decision
For coverage of the ICSID decision in English:
–International tribunal rejects Milwaukee mining company’s $100 million claim against El Salvador International community continues to demand reparations for environmental damage
–National Journal Daily: El Salvador, Poster Child for Trade Deals, Finds Itself Ensnarled in Courts –Statement of Sierra Club's Rachel Ackoff, Associate Washington Representative, on CAFTA Challenge to El Salvador's Environmental, Public Health Policies
–Tribunal rules that mining company failed to waive local court proceedings, thus precluding CAFTA arbitration against El Salvador; hearings in a parallel case to air jurisdictional arguments next week
For coverage of the ICSID decision in Spanish:
–Empresa minera pierde batalla ante el Estado Salvadoreño
–El Salvador gana batalla en demanda por mineria
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