Honduras and Peru: The right to free, prior and informed consent
The governments of Honduras and Peru award concessions to mining companies. Villages are displaced, fields and streams are contaminated and the communities have no say. Even so, they are demanding one thing: that their right to free, prior and informed consent be respected.
“We wish that mining companies would consult us directly, and that the benefits go not only to the mining companies and the government, but also to the communities, which need it the most.”
“I am concerned by the open-pit mines that are being established in our region. They consume huge quantities of water, cause riverbeds to dry up and contaminate the rivers with cyanide, which affects the surrounding communities… In the end, the mining companies have won over the government, who lets them do whatever they want and gives concessions to everyone. So, I am calling on Canadians to react, to write to the government so that there is justice and respect for the environment. The Earth was given by God and we must exploit it, but in a way that makes it all the more beautiful, not that destroys it.”
Choluteca, Honduras
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