Get Involved, International Meddling
Letter to Jim Yong Kim
Dear Mr. Jim Yong Kim,
We, the_______ are writing this letter out of concern for the communities of Cabañas and the people of El Salvador, who have expressed collectively and through various mediums over the past several years their resistance to mining projects in El Salvador for health and economic reasons. Nevertheless, PacificRim/OceanaGold is using ICSID to subvert a democratic nationwide debate over mining and environmental health in El Salvador. When it comes to such issues, local democratic institutions should prevail, not foreign corporations seeking to exploit natural resources.
We have a long history of sistering with the community of ______ in__(department)__ since _(year)_, working side by side with the people of el Salvador as they work to create a more just, safe society in El Salvador. A large part of our sistering work has been fighting against US intervention that undermines El Salvador´s sovereign right to create policies and to the democratic process, and we ask that you support the same.
These matters should not be decided by the World Banks’ investor state arbitration tribunal or any other foreign tribunal. To make things worse, in the course of Pacific Rim’s intervention in the political affairs of El Salvador, four anti-mining activists have been murdered in the project area. We urge you to review the role of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and to determine if it supports the Bank’s mission of ending poverty and promoting responsible and sustainable economic development.
We urge you to undertake this review through an open process with public hearings and the ability for mining affected communities and their allies to present evidence of the harm done by corporations using the investor – state arbitration process to undermine the public interest laws and regulatory structures in countries of the Global South.
We stand with the people of El Salvador in their demand that their domestic governance processes and national sovereignty be respected. The Pacific Rim ICSID arbitration is a direct assault against democratic governance. We stand on the side of democracy.
Sincerely,
Name
Address (with postal code)
Phone number
