Categories Global, ICCA on the international level, ICCAs and the COVID 19 Pandemic, Indigenous people’s rights and human rights, Newsflash, Private sector standards and safeguards, Territorial integrity, community wellbeing, World

ICCA Consortium Joins Global Solidarity Letter Against Aggressive Opportunism of Mining Industry During COVID-19

First published on 06/02/2020, and last updated on 07/06/2020

The mining industry is one of the most polluting, deadly and destructive industries in the world, yet it has received little scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of our policy on defending territories of life and their defenders, the ICCA Consortium joined more than 330 other organisations in signing an international open letter condemning the ways in which the mining industry and several governments are taking advantage of the pandemic to fast-track mining.

Read the open letter: “Global Solidarity with Communities, Indigenous Peoples and Workers at risk from Mining Pandemic Profiteers

The open letter highlights four trends that pose an immediate threat to the health and safety of Indigenous peoples, communities and organisations that have been struggling to defend public health and their territories and environments against the destruction and devastation of mining extractivism for decades:

  • Mining companies are ignoring the real threats of the pandemic and continuing to operate, using any means available;
  • Governments around the world are taking extraordinary measures to shut down legitimate protests and promote the mining sector;
  • Mining companies are using the pandemic as an opportunity to hide their dirty track records and present themselves as public-minded saviours; and
  • Mining companies and governments are using the crisis to secure regulatory change that favours the industry at the expense of people and planet.

This supplementary report provides in-depth cases to exemplify these trends: “Voices from the Ground: How the Global Mining Industry is Profiting from the COVID-19 Pandemic”. It was jointly produced by Earthworks (USA), Institute for Policy Studies – Global Economy Program (USA), London Mining Network (UK), MiningWatch Canada, Terra Justa, War on Want (UK), and Yes to Life No to Mining, with input from numerous partner organisations and communities around the world.

If you would like to help spread the word about the global solidarity letter or key issues therein, please use this media pack for allies.

Environmental Assembly to declare Municipality of Tocoa free of mining, Honduras © Pedro Landa

“We may be wearing masks, but our eyes are wide-open, saying NO to Mega-mining”. 4 March 2020 in Esquel, Argentina © Nicolas Palacios.

Demonstration to free the Guapinol Water Defenders in Honduras © Juan Esquivel (FSAR).

Featured image: March Against Mining on 4 May 2020 in Esquel, Argentina © Nicolas Palacios.