MAC: Mines and Communities

Oruro Declaration

Published by MAC on 2007-03-11


ORURO DECLARATION

"Unity, Solidarity and Defence of Our Rights Against the Mining Industry"

Bolivia

11th March 2007

We meet in Oruru, Bolivia, a country with a long tradition of mining, a country now contaminated and impoverished by the indiscriminate plunder of its resources. We are organizations, communities and peoples affected by mining, we are ecological and human rights institutions and churches, and we meet as the Latin American Gathering on Environmental Justice and Mining, carried out between March 9 and 11. Based upon our shared experiences, we believe:

That the aggressive expansion of mining industries in Latin America, under the premise of "sustainable development,"is generating conflicts and affecting the rights of a growing number of communities and populations, stripping lands, causing forced displacements, migration, and irreparable damages to the environment - the fundamental foundation of life;

That the mining industry has been responsible for the plunder and destruction of natural resources for over 500 years, for generating an enormous ecological debt, and for the appropriation of common resources such as water and land, and is affecting national sovereignty and causing the loss of values and cultural identities;

That the State and governments have abandoned their role as protectors of human rights and their responsibilities for regulation and environmental oversight in mining operations.

They have instead served to generate favourable policies to attract foreign investment;

That the powerful influence of transnational mining firms in all levels of government, their direct interventions in the lives of communities, and their control of a large part of the communications media are some of the strategies of domination, corruption, and public campaigns against our organizations and institutions;

That harassment, threats, physical aggression, and murders of social leaders in regions where conflicts are developing between mining companies and communities are growing practices in Latin American countries; and

That the criminalization of our legitimate actions in defence of our rights is part of the mining companies' efforts at territorial control.

The most clear manifestation of this is the militarization of conflicts, as mining companies are using public and private security forces against communities affected by their extractive projects. The corruption and cooptation of local leaders and NGOs are a frequent complement to these operations.

We therefore declare that:

We reject the criminal practices and the impunity of companies, governments and institutions against the rights of communities, and we add ourselves to the growing response of civil society and the resistance of communities.

We advocate for the strengthening and linking together of the diverse experiences of struggle that are raising consciousness and advancing the recuperation of rights and territories throughout many sectors of the population.

Based on these experiences and in the attempt to bring these processes of resistance together, we hereby constitute ourselves as the Latin American Observatory of Mining Conflicts, to strengthen our unity, our solidarity, and the defence of our rights.

We express our solidarity with social leaders, environmental and human rights defenders, and institutions throughout Latin America who are suffering from harassment and repression on part of the mining companies and States.

We call upon the national governments of Latin America and United Nations institutions to adopt and implement policies and mechanisms to guarantee the protection and respect of the human rights of communities and populations affected by mining, and to prevent the carrying out of programs which facilitate and legitimate the bad practices of the mining industry.

Conscious that people and Peoples throughout Latin America are rising up to defend their rights, we reaffirm our hope and our choice for the defence of the dignity of life, and the right to land, territory, water, forests, and air.
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