Many indigenous and traditional farming (or campesino) communities are struggling to protect the land on which their livelihoods depend. Often living in conditions of extreme poverty, they rely on their land for food, shelter, and cultural identity. In some cases, pollution from mining threatens to seep into the land and water. In others, communities have been forced from their land for development projects or monoculture plantations, condemning them to internal displacement and landlessness. Others campaign for sustainable land use, seeking to halt patterns of destruction for the benefit of future generations.
Defenders of land rights, culture, and natural resources can find themselves facing powerful interests and brutal opposition. Some have approached PBI for protection after they have been attacked or their colleagues assassinated. Many others have been subjected to criminal prosecutions based on spurious charges.
On May 3, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted an article of concern on its Facebook page titled Mining harassment grows in Olopa Chiquimula, amid the Covid-19 health crisis.
The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has produced its 16-page Popular Bulletin No. 6 in the Q’eqchi’ language.
The bulletin can be read in Q’eqchi’ here.
Article by PBI-UK
Article by PBI-UK
Article by PBI-Canada
Article by PBI-Canada
On April 18, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project shared an article on its Facebook page about the refusal of the Russian-Swiss company Solway to suspend operations at its nickel mine in El Estor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article by PBI-Honduras
The difficulties faced by rural communities prior to the COVID-19 health crisis were already alarming. However, with the arrival of this global pandemic, smallholder farmers have seen their problems multiply. Under a state of emergency, where basic rights like access to health and food are limited, the helplessness of many families is concerning. This comes in addition to the intensified militarization of the countryside under Decree PCM-052-2019, published in October 2019.
Peace Brigades International has endorsed the Escazú Agreement. PBI-Mexico has also called on the European Union to encourage Mexican authorities to “Take all necessary steps to ratify the Escazú Agreement through the competent national bodies.”
Article by PBI-Canada
On April 13, the United Front of Community Police of Guerrero State threatened human rights activist Manuel Olivares Hernández and journalist Ezequiel Flores Contreras via a media release the armed group posted on Facebook.