Report Warns Santacruz Silver of Serious Human Rights Violations at Bolivia Mine ahead of AGM

Adhere to the mining contract signed by the SCS subsidiary, Minera Illapa, and the Bolivian Mining Company (COMIBOL) and developed in Bolivian legislation No. PL 345/2013 -2014, in particular Stipulation 28 of the agreement, specifies that it will adhere to Post 347 of the Bolivian Constitution, which concentrates on policies connected to environmental administration.

The mining company and associated mineworker unions have additionally struck, threatened and criminalized participants of the Ayllu that oppose the mine. In April 2024, mine workers attacked a team of women, maintaining a tranquil clog to safeguard their territory from mining tasks.

The Bolívar Mine is on the genealogical region of the Ayllu Acre Antequera, a public land that Indigenous Authorities and households control. The record submitted to SCS was authored by Cultural Survival and records infractions of several human rights at the mine website. The report consists of documents of offenses of the following civil liberties: right to Free, Prior and Educated Approval, right to health and wellness and to a healthy atmosphere, right to freedom of expression, right to stay in safety and security, right to non-discrimination, social civil liberties, and the right to come from an Indigenous neighborhood.

In a letter to the firm going along with the report, the neighborhoods that comprise the Ayllu Acre Antequera and their companion companies outlined some of the most pressing problems the mine operations are causing. Technical researches discovered elevated degrees of hefty metals in the Antequera River, and area participants report mismanaged mine waste, understood as tailings, that obtains chosen up and blown around by the wind.

The letter also describes how the firm has actually completely disregarded the right to Free, Enlightened and prior Approval laid out in the UN Statement on the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples, which both Canada and Bolivia have actually adopted. The Ayllu Acre Antequera was never gotten in touch with concerning the mine task, has actually not been properly educated of the job and its impacts, and has thus not granted progress.

Last week, Native leaders from the Ayllu Acre Antequera in Bolivia, along with the companies Qhana Pukara Kurmi, Cultural Survival, and Earthworks, submitted a record to the Canadian mining business Santacruz Silver (SCS) in advance of its Annual General Fulfilling today in Vancouver. In 2021, SCS acquired the Bolívar Mine in the Department of Oruro in Bolivia from the Swiss mining business Glencore.

Guarantee the protection and security of nearby areas and of human rights and land protectors, including the ladies who were attacked. Take the necessary actions to place an end to the intimidation and violence these teams encounter.

The neighborhoods living near the Bolívar Mine deserve a clean and healthy environment and to live without the danger of violence and intimidation. Santacruz Silver must take instant actions to assure that its operations promote human rights, do not trigger irreversible injury to the atmosphere and Native culture, and remedy previous harms.

Publish the results of an independent testimonial and examination of the tailings centers of the Bolívar Mine. This is since there have actually been records of the mismanagement of tailings, causing tailings to be distributed in the wind, and there has actually been proof of leakages in the tailings dam. Guarantee that tailings administration straightens with the guidelines developed in Safety and security First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management.

As Santacruz Silver assembles its Annual General Fulfilling, neighborhoods have a number of demands for the business to bring it right into conformity with nationwide and worldwide legal frameworks, the Canadian Government’s Strategy for Liable Company Conduct Abroad, and with SCS’s own goal for communities “to have an energetic, free, previous and enlightened engagement from their part, in harmony with their interior protocols as land proprietors, citizens and their representatives.”

Existing a strategy to clean the Antequera River, offered the visibility of high levels of heavy steels, and to prevent future spills of impurities from the mine right into the landmark. The strategy needs to include safe and clean water for the areas and their animals up until research studies confirm that the hefty metal levels in the water satisfy legal limitations.

The Bolívar Mine is on the ancestral region of the Ayllu Acre Antequera, a communal land that Indigenous Authorities and households regulate. In a letter to the business accompanying the report, the neighborhoods that consist of the Ayllu Acre Antequera and their companion companies outlined some of the most pressing problems the mine operations are causing. Technical researches found elevated levels of heavy steels in the Antequera River, and area members report mismanaged mine waste, known as tailings, that gets selected up and blown around by the wind. The mining company and linked mineworker unions have likewise struck, intimidated and outlawed members of the Ayllu that oppose the mine. In April 2024, mine workers attacked a group of ladies, preserving a serene clog to safeguard their area from mining activities.