Transnational mining companies are extracting gold and other precious metals all across Latin America, and seeking to expand their operations. This affects access to clean water, fresh air, and agricultural production. Large-scale mining exacerbates violence and human rights abuses in countries across the region. The consequences for local communities and their natural environment have been disastrous. But those communities are resisting—organizing creatively and demanding protection of their rights. Presenters will share case studies from El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras.

• Directly from El Salvador: Sandra Carolina Asencio, Pastoral Agent with the Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of the Creation of the Order of Friars Minor and a member of the “Mesa Nacional frente a la Minería Metálica de El Salvador,” who have succeeded in halting gold mining in their country.
• Guatemala: Kathryn Johnson, Assistant Director of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission will present case studies where mining affected communities and their allies are using creative strate-gies to hold US and Canadian companies accountable for abuses committed in Guatemala.
• Colombia: Dana Brown, Executive Director of the US Office on Colombia will discuss growing human rights concerns surround-ing the booming and largely unregulated mining industry in Co-lombia and civil society’s multi-pronged resistance.
• Amanda Kistler, Communications Manager at the Center for In-ternational Environmental Law, will discuss the impacts of four of Goldcorp’s mines in different stages of operation across Hon-duras, Guatemala and Mexico and provide insight into the results of different international campaign strategies to support local or-ganizing in defense of human health and a healthy environment.

Moderation: Sarah Blackwell, Legal and Policy Fellow, Interna-tional Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR)

Cosponsored by: Center for International Environmental Law, Columbian Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, Institute for Policy Studies, Latin American Working Group, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Oxfam America, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and US Office on Colombia