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See also other materials on "Indigenous peoples"

1 Jan. 2002 to present:

2003:

ILO launches first global report on discrimination at work - Says workplace discrimination remains a persistent global problem, with new, more subtle forms emerging (International Labour Organization, 12 May 2003)

• full report: Time for Equality at Work (International Labour Organization, Apr. 2003)

Suit Says ChevronTexaco Dumped Poisons in Ecuador - A group of American lawyers representing more than 30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the ChevronTexaco Corporation yesterday. The suit was filed in Ecuador on behalf of 88 plaintiffs in Lago Agrio, a small oil town in northern Ecuador, and asserts that during two decades of operation, from 1971 to 1992, ChevronTexaco dumped over four million gallons a day of toxic wastewater, contaminated with oil, heavy metals and carcinogens into open pits, estuaries and rivers. It also says the company left behind nearly 350 open waste pits that killed people and animals. (Abby Ellin, New York Times, 8 May 2003) 

• Ecuadorean Indians sue Texaco -...They are also alleging the company's activities have led to an increased risk of cancer among the local population. ChevronTexaco rejects the allegations and says the company met all its obligations under Ecuadorean law. (BBC News, 8 May 2003)

• U.S. lawyers take US$1 billion lawsuit against ChevronTexaco to Ecuador - A decade after unsuccessfully filing in U.S. courts, American lawyers representing poor Ecuadoreans who say their rainforest homeland was destroyed by a U.S oil company took their claim to Ecuador Tuesday. (Gonzalo Solano, Associated Press, 7 May 2003)

• Case in Ecuador Viewed As Key Pollution Fight - U.S. Legal Team Suing ChevronTexaco - Legal experts say it could be a groundbreaking case, establishing a new way for environmental activists to force multinational corporations to pay for what activists say is environmental devastation. (Brooke A. Masters, Washington Post, 6 May 2003)

FTSE4Good raises the bar for companies - FTSE Group recently announced a new, more stringent set of human rights criteria for companies in the socially responsible index series FTSE4Good...FTSE are trialling the human rights standards on the global upstream oil gas and mining sector...They are asking companies to commit to ILO core labour standards on a global scale, support publicly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have guidelines on the use of armed security guards according to the UN Basic Principles of the Use of Force and Firearms and to reference “respect of the rights of indigenous peoples”. In order to stay in the FTSE4Good Index, companies will also have to provide training for employees on human rights policy, provide evidence of undertaking a human rights impact assessment and integration of their policy into risk assessment processes...In countries of particular concern such as Angola, China, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, resource companies must commit to meeting more stringent guidelines (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 21 Apr. 2003)

Poor fellow mining country - Steering a big bank and a huge mining company, Leon Davis [chairman of Westpac, deputy chairman of Rio Tinto] puts Aboriginal disadvantage first on his unusual agenda...Westpac recently issued Australia's first comprehensive triple bottom line report...Rio Tinto has made striking progress in its relations with Aboriginal communities in Australia, winning praise from indigenous leaders such as Marcia Langton and Mick Dodson. Davis was key to this policy, spearheading the company's decision to set aside legal hostilities and negotiate with Aboriginal people to form binding voluntary agreements covering native title...Westpac staff volunteers spend four weeks in Aboriginal communities providing mentoring on family financial and small business skills...Rio Tinto has a huge legacy of community conflict to come to terms with [including] the Jabiluka uranium mine, the Weipa industrial dispute, the Bougainville copper mine, allegations of human rights abuses at the huge (albeit minority-owned) FreeportGrasberg copper mine in West Papua, and ongoing debate about disposal of mine tailings at the Lihir gold mine in Indonesia. Recently, for example, Rio Tinto has opposed any ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by Australia. (Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Apr. 2003)

Seven activists win top environmental prize (Michael Kahn, Reuters, 15 Apr. 2003)

• Coalminer’s Daughter in West Virginia, Australian Aboriginal Grandmothers Among Winners of 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize - World’s Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists Honors Seven Fighting for Clean Energy, Water and against Government Corruption (Goldman Environmental Prize, 14 Apr. 2003)

• {···español} Hija de minero del carbón en Virginia Occidental y abuelas aborígenes de Australia entre los ganadores del Premio Medioambiental Goldman de 2003 - Mayor premio del mundo para ecologistas de base honra a siete que luchan por la energía limpia y el agua sana, y en contra de la corrupción gubernamental (Premio Medioambiental Goldman, 14 abril 2003)

• Goldman Prize honors environmental crusaders -...The Goldman prize honors grassroots environmental "heroes" from six geographic areas on the planet. (Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2003)

• 2003 Recipient Backgrounders - 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients - A coal miner’s daughter and native West Virginian, Julia Bonds has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading campaigns to stop mountaintop removal mining...Forest protection activist Odigha Odigha of Cross River State, Nigeria, has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for winning unprecedented protections for Nigeria’s last remaining rainforests. Odigha was instrumental in creating a statewide logging moratorium...Von Hernandez has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for organizing campaigns against waste incinerators in the Philippines...Physicist and economics professor Pedro Arrojo-Agudo has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for leading the campaign to stop Spain’s National Hydrological Plan from damming and re-routing the country’s last remaining free-flowing rivers...Peruvian community organizer Maria Elena Foronda Farro has won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her campaign to clean up Peru’s fishmeal industry, which dumps untreated industrial waste into streams and out of smokestacks, causing cholera outbreaks, fungal skin diseases and the worst pollution problems in Peru’s coastal cities...Aboriginal elders Eileen Kampakuta Brown and Eileen Wani Wingfield have won the Goldman Environmental Prize for their leadership in the campaign to block construction of a nuclear waste dump in their South Australian desert homeland. (Goldman Environmental Prize, 14 Apr. 2003)

Banks in drive for project principles - The drive by Citigroup and large European providers of project finance in emerging markets to obtain industry-wide adherence to the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental guidelines may increase pressure on export credit agencies to do the same..."In the past, the US Export-Import bank has taken the lead on environmental standards and issues of transparency," said John Sohn, an expert on export credit agencies at Friends of the Earth...The impetus behind the US lead was in part due to financing of the controversial Three Gorges dam in China in 1996. The US Export-Import bank decided not to finance the project...Non-US ECAs, such as Germany's Hermes and Export Development Canada, less constrained by environmental standards, provided some finance for the dam. In an attempt to create a level playing field, the US Export-Import Bank began promoting within the OECD the concept of common and transparent environmental standards but its moves have generally been met with resistance. (Demetri Sevastopulos, Financial Times, 9 Apr. 2003)

• Four banks adopt IFC agreement - At least four European and US banks plan to adopt the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental guidelines for project finance in emerging markets, a clear signal that banks are awakening to the risks of socially irresponsible investing. ABN Amro, Barclays, Citibank and WestLB, in collaboration with the IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, have drafted an agreement called the "Equator Principles"...Under the agreement, the banks agree to adopt the IFC's social and environmental rules for sustainable development, which include guidelines on issues ranging from environmental assessment and natural habitats to indigenous peoples and child and forced labour. (Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times, 6 Apr. 2003)

• Four Banks Adopt Social and Environmental Guidelines for Developing World Projects (Business for Social Responsibility News Monitor summary of article in Financial Times, 7 Apr. 2003)

Clif Bar [producer of energy bars] Forms Wind-Farm Partnership to Offset CO2 Footprint [USA] - Clif Bar Inc. has announced it is supporting the construction of the first large-scale Native American-owned wind farm to offset the carbon dioxide generated by the energy used in its offices, manufacturing, and business travel during 2002...The company joins Stonyfield Farm, The Timberland Company, Ben & Jerry's, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and other companies in sponsoring the project. (GreenBiz.com, 26 Mar. 2003)

Bushmen to share royalties on anti-obesity drug [South Africa] - A group of South African hunter-gatherers is to receive six per cent of all royalties received by South Africa's leading research organisation from a potential anti-obesity drug derived from the local hoodia plant. Under the deal, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will also pay the San community eight per cent of all milestone payments received from Phytopharm, its UK-based licencee for the drug. The money will be used for the "general upliftment, development and training of the San community". (Tamar Kahn, SciDev.Net, 26 Mar. 2003)

Inter-American Development Bank President Iglesias Admits Serious Flaws in Camisea Gas Project [Peru]: Still No Commitment to Loan -...The meeting between NGOs and Iglesias came after the recent release of a memorandum documenting alarming deaths inside a legally recognized reserve for isolated and uncontacted indigenous peoples, where part of the project is located. [companies involved in Camisea Gas Project include: Pluspetrol (Argentina), Hunt Oil (U.S.), SK Corporation (South Korea), Techint, Tecgas (a division of Techint), Sonatrach (Algiers), Grana y Montero SA (Peru), Tractebel (Belgium)] (Friends of the Earth, 24 Mar. 2003)

Brazil Amazon jungle fires reach Indian reserve - Forest fires burning in Brazil's northern Amazon jungle have spread to the reserve of the Yanomami Indians, one of the world's last hunter-gatherer tribes, and the government urged farmers not to light more fires during the dry season. (Reuters, 17 Mar. 2003)

Gana & Gwi Bushmen - Survival labelled 'terrorist' organisation [Botswana] - Survival has recently been labelled a 'terrorist' organisation by a senior figure in Debswana, De Beers's Botswana subsidiary...Mr Rafael Runco, Chairman of Survival International, said today, 'These remarks clearly show that, rather than addressing the huge international concern at the forced removal of the Bushmen, the Botswana government and Debswana are resorting to name-calling. The government ought to be allowing the Bushmen back on to their land, rather than criticising the messenger.' (Survival International, 13 Mar. 2003)

Indigenous Struggle in Ecuador Becomes a "Cause Beyond Control" - Transnational Oil Companies Free to Leave Amazon -...On March 4, 2003, the Ecuadorian newspaper Hoy reported that the Ministry of Environment has agreed to allow two transnational companies to cancel their oil concession contracts under the provision of force majeure. The force majeure they are referring to is the determined opposition of Kichwa, Shuar and Achuar people who live in the concession areas to ongoing activities by the companies, Burlington Resources of Texas and Compania General de Combustibles (CGC) of Argentina. The CGC concession is owned partly by ChevronTexaco, according to Platt's Oilgram News. (Kenny Bruno, EarthRights International, CorpWatch website, 13 Mar. 2003)

Loggers vs. "Invisible" Tribes: Secret War in Amazon? [Peru] - The greatest pressure the isolated peoples face is from the loggers who have come to Madre de Dios to extract mahogany from the forests. Recent encounters between loggers and the isolated peoples have resulted in violence...They are at risk to disease that their immune systems cannot fight as well as mortal injury from the loggers. (John Roach, National Geographic News, 12 Mar. 2003)

Awá - Amazon nomads celebrate land victory - Triumph for Brazil’s last hunter-gatherers after 20-year Survival campaign - Brazil’s last hunter-gatherer Indian tribe face the future with more confidence this week, after the demarcation – mapping out and marking on the ground – of the Awá Indians’ land was completed. This legal recognition of their territory, ordered by a judge, was the main objective of a 20-year Survival campaign. Much of the Awá’s rainforest has been invaded by ranchers, loggers and settlers, who killed many Indians...The EU- and World Bank-funded Carajás industrial project was responsible for much of the devastation. (Survival International, 11 Mar. 2003)

• Brazil Recognizes Land Rights of Amazon Hunter-Gatherers (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 12 Mar. 2003)

Reps Order Shell to Pay Ijaw $1.5b Compensation [Nigeria] -...the House of Representatives has ordered Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria Limited to pay the sum of US$1.5 billion to Ijaw Aborigines of Bayelsa State as compensation for the untold hardship and environmental devastation it has brought the Ijaws since 1956. The House of Representatives issued this directive to Shell (SPDC) following the recommendation of a-four-man advisory legal panel which it set up to consider the petition filed by Ijaw Aborigines against Shell. (Lemmy Ughegbe, Vanguard [Nigeria], 12 Mar. 2003)

Internationally-recognised core labour standards in Canada - Canada has ratified only five of the eight core labour standards...Canada has ratified both the ILO’s core conventions on discrimination. While the law is generally in compliance with those conventions, in practice women continue to receive much lower remuneration than men. Disabled people and aboriginal peoples are greatly under-represented in the work force. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 11 Mar. 2003)

• {···français} Les normes fondamentales du travail internationalement reconnues au Canada - Le Canada a seulement ratifié cinq des huit normes fondamentales du travail...Le Canada a ratifié les deux conventions fondamentales de l'OIT sur la discrimination. Si, d'une manière générale, sa législation se conforme à leur texte, dans la pratique, la rémunération des femmes reste très inférieure à celle des hommes. Les personnes handicapées et les peuples autochtones sont nettement sous-représentés dans la population active. (Confédération internationale des syndicats libres, 11 mars 2003)

Effects of Oil and Gas Development Are Accumulating On Northern Alaska's Environment and Native Cultures - The environmental effects of oil and gas exploration and production on Alaska's North Slope have been accumulating for more than three decades, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Efforts by the oil industry and regulatory agencies have reduced many environmental effects, but have not eliminated them. The committee that wrote the congressionally mandated report also said that the social and economic effects have been large, and both positive and negative. (National Academies' National Research Council, 5 Mar. 2003)

World's Largest Window Company Acts to Save Chile's Endangered Forests and Indigenous Communities - U.S. Company Leads Trend Toward Ecologically Certified Wood - Andersen Corporation, the world's leading wood window manufacturer, announced today that it will no longer buy Chilean wood products unless they are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (ForestEthics, 27 Feb. 2003)

Peru Pipeline Endangering Lives of Indigenous People, Say Groups - Funding should be withheld from the sponsors of a gas pipeline project in the Peruvian Amazon, whose imported workers are seriously threatening the health and well-being of previously isolated indigenous people living in the area, according to six environmental and watchdog groups. The groups, which include Rainforest Action Network, Environmental Defense, and Friends of the Earth International, maintained that the sponsors of the US$1.4 billion Camisea Gas Project, Pluspetrol of Argentina and Texas-based Hunt Oil, were "forcibly contacting groups living in voluntary isolation" in violation of internationally recognized rights of indigenous peoples. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 26 Feb. 2003)

Central Kalahari Game Reserve carved up for diamonds [Botswana] - Government maps show diamonds rush on 'Bushmen's' ancestral land - Maps from the Botswana Government's own Department of Geological Survey show a massive increase in diamonds exploration concessions on the ancestral land of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen and Bakgalagadi, just months after the government evicted them from the region. (Survival International, 20 Feb. 2003)

World Corporations Put Environmentalists Under Fire Worldwide - Amnesty International Campaigns for Corporate Accountability on Human Rights - In a new report released today, Amnesty International charges that corporate interests are inflicting a devastating worldwide toll on human rights and the environment. The report, Environmentalists Under Fire, cites the US for failing to use its influence to protect environmental defenders around the world, and highlights cases in Russia, Ecuador, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Chad and Cameroon...While environmental defenders can only appeal to the US government to live up to its rhetoric on rights, the corporations cited in the report - ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Occidental Petroleum and Freeport-McMoRan - have considerable ability to influence the US Government, having collectively made more than $2.8 million in campaign contributions during the 2002 election cycle. (Amnesty International USA, 20 Feb. 2003)

• full report: Environmentalists Under Fire: Six Urgent Cases of Human Rights Abuses (Amnesty International USA, Feb. 2003)

• Corporates Take Toll on Rights and Environment, Says Amnesty (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 21 Feb. 2003)

100,000 Petition Botswana to Protect Bushmen -...They and their advocates claim that the government--one of the wealthiest in Africa due to Botswana's small population and its huge diamond industry--wants to remove the Bushmen to increase tourism to the Reserve and exploit recently discovered diamond fields. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 16 Feb. 2003)

El Salvador: Violations of Labour Standards Rife, says new ICFTU Report - ...the ICFTU has condemned El Salvador's failure to protect basic trade union rights in the country's Export Processing Zones...One of the many major allegations of the report was the unsafe working conditions workers face ...Gender discrimination is also widespread...The report also mentions the fact that indigenous people in El Salvador face discrimination in employment...Child labour is also widespread in much of the rural and unregulated urban economies (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 5 Feb. 2003)

• Internationally recognised core labour standards in El Salvador (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 4 Feb. 2003)

• {···español} El Salvador: Proliferan las violaciones de las normas laborales, dice un reciente informe de la CIOSL (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 5 febrero 2003)

• {···français} El Salvador: les violations des normes du travail sont courantes, affirme un rapport de la CISL (Confédération internationale des syndicats libres, 6 février 2003)

MERCURY: Advocates Urge U.S. Not To Block Treaty Talks -...The UNEP group stressed a particular need to protect children, women of childbearing age, indigenous people, people dependent on fish and those who may be exposed at work. (UN Wire, 28 Jan. 2003)

Camisea Oil & Gas Project in Peru -...The following memo details new information regarding recent impacts of Peru’s Camisea oil and gas project...Illnesses are now spreading among peoples living in voluntary isolation within the Nahua-Kugapakori Reserve. Observers have repeatedly warned that project operations within the Reserve and Pluspetrol’s policy of forced contact with isolated peoples pose a direct threat to the physical and cultural integrity of peoples living in voluntary isolation. (Amazon Watch, 14 Jan. 2003)

2002:

Jungle energy project sparks controversy in Peru - For Peru's government, a plan to pipe natural gas from the remote Camisea jungle brings hope of economic growth. But to environmentalists, the $2 billion project sounds a death knell for one of the world's last pristine jungles and the indigenous groups who live there. [refers to Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil, Techint, Tractebel, Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux] (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 17 Dec. 2002)

Eight oil workers freed in Ecuador's Amazon - Eight workers for Argentine oil company CGC have been freed after being held for nine days by Ecuadorean Indians protesting the firm's exploration in the Amazon jungle (Reuters, 17 Dec. 2002)

IADB OK's loan for Enron backed pipeline in Bolivia - The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a controversial loan for a Bolivian company partly controlled by bankrupt U.S. energy giant Enron to build a gas pipeline through an environmentally sensitive forest. [refers to indigenous peoples; refers to Transredes, partly controlled by Enron & Royal Dutch/Shell]. (Anna Willard, Reuters, 13 Dec. 2002)

PERU: $5 Million IDB Loan To Fund Monitoring Of Natural Gas Project - The Inter-American Development Bank said yesterday it has approved a $5 million loan to Peru to strengthen hydrocarbon safeguards, particularly in relation to the country's Camisea natural gas project. The loan is meant to help Peru monitor the Camisea plan's impact and other social and environmental measures...Preventative health care for native communities is also planned. (UN Wire, 5 Dec. 2002)

• IDB approves $5 million to strengthen environmental and social monitoring, management in Peru (Inter-American Development Bank, 4 Dec. 2002)

• {···español} BID aprueba préstamo de 5 millones de dólares para consolidar gestión y supervisión ambiental y social en Perú (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, 4 diciembre 2002)

Peru's Camisea - Economic boon or environmental bane? For Peru's government, the Camisea natural gas project brings hope of economic growth and freedom from costly energy imports. But to environmentalists, the $2 billion project sounds a death knell for one of the world's last pristine jungles and the indigenous groups who live there. [refers to Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil, Techint, Pluspetrol, Tractebel - a unit of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux] (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 4 Dec. 2002)

Indigenous women: UNIFEM Head Decries Feminization Of Poverty - Mexico's 6.7 million indigenous women, most of whom are employed in the informal sector, have seen their condition worsen with globalization...Heyzer called on countries to address the feminization of poverty by applying a gender perspective to budgets, taxes, employment and land use. (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2002)

RODDICK: It's the Real Thing -- Thievery and Corruption [India] -...Coca-Cola is anything but a savior to the indigenous people (Adivasis) and members of the oppressed castes (Dalits) around Kerala. To them, Coca-Cola Corp. is a thief operating with impunity, polluting their land, killing their crops, stealing their water and then selling it back to them as fizzy sugar drinks, and ironically, bottled water. (Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, AlterNet, 25 Nov. 2002)

DEVELOPMENT: Toepfer Calls For Consideration Of Indigenous People - Large-scale development projects should be allowed only after assessments are conducted of their possible effects on indigenous people, U.N. Environmental Program Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said yesterday at the fourth conference of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests. (UN Wire, 19 Nov. 2002)

"Older and wiser" Exxon listens to the locals - Oil major Exxon Mobil is now working more closely with non-governmental organisations on upstream projects to help avoid the social unrest it has suffered in the past, a senior executive said. [refers to Exxon-led Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Exxon's operations in Aceh] (Neil Chatterjee, Reuters, 11 Nov. 2002)

Amerindian Researcher Brings Grassroots Views on Mining to Fore - In Guyana and Colombia, as in most Latin American countries, mining has dramatically increased over the past two decades. But from the contamination of healthy rivers to the lawless atmosphere of mining towns, few have felt the ill effects of mining more than these countries’ Indigenous peoples. (Colin Campbell, International Development Research Centre, 1 Nov. 2002)

• {···français} Exploitation minière : une chercheure amérindienne exprime le point de vue de la base - Au Guyana et en Colombie, comme dans la plupart des pays d’Amérique du Sud, l’exploitation minière a énormément augmenté au cours des vingt dernières années. Mais, qu’il s’agisse de la contamination de rivières saines ou de l’anarchie qui règne dans les villes minières, les populations autochtones de ces pays sont celles qui ont le plus souffert de l’exploitation des mines. (Colin Campbell, Centre de recherches pour le développement international, 1 novembre 2002)

Indigenous Assembly Condemns FTAA - The Continental Assembly of Peoples of the Americas, meeting Friday in the Ecuadorian capital, exhorted the region's governments to reject the Free Trade Area of the Americas, saying it will harm their cultures and the environment and deplete natural resources. (Kintto Lucas, Inter-Press Service, 1 Nov. 2002)

Delhi Climate Justice Declaration -...We recognize that the impacts of climate change are disproportionately felt by the poor, women, youth, coastal peoples, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, dalits, farmers and the elderly; We recognize that climate change is being caused primarily by industrialized nations and transnational corporations;... (India Climate Justice Forum, 1 Nov. 2002)

• A Human Face to a Human Problem: Climate Justice Summit [report on The Climate Justice Summit, held in Delhi, India, 26-28 Oct. 2002] (Nadia Khastagir and Amit Srivastava, CorpWatch India, 1 Nov. 2002)

Six Businesses Vie for Top Sustainability Prize - The World Resources Institute has announced that six sustainable enterprises in Latin America are finalists in a competition [AmazonLife S.A., Cafe La Selva, Comercio Alternativo, Empresas ESM, Solar Trade Corporation, TopAir] (GreenBiz.com, 29 Oct. 2002)

Tribe Joins Chemical Workers to Protest Ponca City, Okla.-Area Pollution [USA] -...Feeling trapped and overwhelmed by industry and environmental contamination, a diverse group of about 150 people rallied recently in a walking "toxic tour" of the major industrial facilities adjoining tribal lands...the group's major environmental concern is focused on a company that was formerly Witco, now Continental Carbon based in Houston. The China Synthetic Rubber Company of Taiwan owns Continental Carbon. [refers also to Conoco] (JoKay Dowell, Indian Country Today [USA], 27 Oct. 2002)

Save H2Opi Water: A water fight in the desert [USA] -...In seeming indifference to the impact of its operations on the Hopi and Navajo people and their natural environment, Peabody [Peabody Energy company] filed an application to substantially expand its operations and to increase its water usage by 32% percent in January of this year. (Laura Inouye, Oxfam America, 24 Oct. 2002)

• company website: Navajo Aquifer (Peabody Energy)

Bushmen relocation 'undemocratic': Diamonds behind rights violations say Botswana opposition -...It [statement by The Youth League of the Botswana National Front] continues, 'The real reason why Basarwa are forcefully removed from their ancestral lands is to pave way for Debswana [De Beers's joint mining venture with the Botswana Government] to mine Diamonds.' (Survival International, 17 Oct. 2002)

Maroon tribe in Suriname produces map to claim land rights, halt logging - Descendants of escaped African slaves presented Suriname's government with a map showing areas they claim as traditional lands Tuesday, seeking to win some control of the vast forests and protect them from logging. (Arny Belfor, Associated Press, 16 Oct. 2002)

Activists bring their complaints home to Taiwan - DISPUTE: US workers for plants owned by Taiwan's Koo's Group are angry and they have brought their grievances across the Pacific to Koo's doorstep - Hundreds of labor and environmental activists from 16 countries yesterday protested in front of the Taiwan Cement Corp building in Taipei to urge the Koo's Group to solve disputes involving one of its subsidiaries in the US. The protesters claim that Koo's Group's Continental Carbon Co violated environmental protection and labor rights laws [in USA] (Chiu Yu-Tzu, Taipei Times, 10 Oct. 2002)

Pehuenches Indians mobilise against construction of new hydroelectric plant [Chile] - The national Chilean Electric Company (ENDESA) has projected the construction of a new hydroelectric plant...The project foresees the flooding of 22-thousand hectares of land of the Indian communities of Pehuenches de Quepuca-Ralco and Ralco Lepoy and the demobilisation of some 500 people. (Missionary Service News Agency, 4 Oct. 2002)

Ayoreo [Paraguay] - Uncontacted tribe in danger: Illegal roads bulldozed through isolated Indians' land - The last uncontacted Indians south of the Amazon basin face death from diseases as their land is being invaded by companies and settlers. (Survival International, 3 Oct. 2002)

Toxins put Arctic polar bears and humans at risk  - The health of polar bears and the indigenous peoples of the Arctic is at serious risk from man-made toxins being carried there by air and sea, a new report showed yesterday. (Paul de Bendern, Reuters, 3 Oct. 2002)

• Toxic chemicals a major threat to the Arctic [refers to Canada, Greenland, Russia, USA] - Arctic wildlife and communities are heavily contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other industrial pollutants according to a report released today by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme...The new report Arctic Pollution 2002 demonstrates that some indigenous communities in the remote Arctic have among the world's highest exposures to certain toxic chemicals. (WWF, 1 Oct. 2002)

• full report: Arctic Pollution 2002 (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, 2002)

The Lacandon Jungle's Last Stand Against Corporate Globalization [Mexico] - Plan Puebla Panama and the fight to preserve biodiversity and indigenous rights in Chiapas (Ryan Zinn, coordinator for Global Exchange's Chiapas program, special to CorpWatch, 26 Sep. 2002)

Discrimination and limited trade union rights on the menu for Australia’s workers - In a new report on Australia, produced to coincide with the 23-25 September WTO review of that countries’ trade policy, the ICFTU has condemned serious violations of workers’ trade union rights, even including incidents of violence against trade union activists. The report also highlights the seemingly intractable problem of discrimination against women and indigenous people in the country. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 23 Sep. 2002)

•  {···español} Discriminación y limitación de los derechos sindicales para los trabajadores de Australia (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 24 septiembre 2002)

• {···français} Discrimination et limitation des droits syndicaux pour les travailleurs australiens (Confédération internationale des syndicats libres, 24 septembre 2002)

ECUADOR: New Report Could Kill Pipeline Project Funding - A report by former World Bank environment chief Robert Goodland could derail plans for an internationally backed oil pipeline project in Ecuador, Inter Press Service reported yesterday. The 27-page report -- commissioned by Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace and other environmental groups and released Friday -- indicates the 500-kilometer crude oil pipeline violates the World Bank's policies on environmental assessment, natural habitats, involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples. [refers to German bank WestLB, which leads a consortium providing $900 million in loans for the project] (UN Wire, 17 Sep. 2002)

• ENVIRONMENT-ECUADOR - Bank Expert Says Pipeline Violates Polices - In a major blow against a controversial oil pipeline project in Ecuador, the former head of the World Bank's environment department has found that the project fails to comply with the Bank's social and environmental policies. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 13 Sep. 2002)

• {···español} AMBIENTE-ECUADOR Nuevo revés para polémico oleoducto - El Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) de Ecuador viola los criterios ambientales y sociales del Banco Mundial, advirtió este viernes el ex jefe del Departamento Ambiental de la institución financiera internacional, Robert Goodland. (Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 13 septiembre 2002)

Author of World Bank Environmental Policies Says the OCP Crude Pipeline in Ecuador Threatens Amazon Biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples - Report Commissioned by Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense and German NGOs - Environmental groups in Germany and the US released a new report today that provides conclusive evidence that the German Bank Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) violated its own policies in loaning $900 million to the OCP Consortium building Ecuador’s new heavy crude pipeline...The OCP Consortium includes: Alberta Energy - Encana (Canada), Occidental Petroleum (OXY- USA), AGIP (Italy), Repsol-YPF (Spain), Perez Compaanc (Argentina), and Techint (Argentina). Citibank and JP Morgan Chase have also come under fire for their financial role in the project. (Amazon Watch, Environmental Defense and German NGOs, 13 Sep. 2002)

Rio asked to clean up uranium mine work [Australia] - Environmentalists and Aboriginal leaders called on mining giant Rio Tinto Plc/Ltd yesterday to start rehabilitation work on a uranium deposit bordering World Heritage-listed parkland in Australia's far north. (Reuters, 6 Sep. 2002) 

Aborigines challenge Rio Tinto [Australia] - Mining giant Rio Tinto is being challenged to abandon a proposed uranium mine in the heart of an Australian national park, after local aborigines made it clear that they opposed the project. Rio Tinto said it would not go ahead with the proposed Jabiluka uranium mine in the Kakadu National Park without permission from the Mirrar aboriginal people. (Friends of the Earth, 5 Sep. 2002)

The North-South Institute calls on governments and corporations to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights vis-à-vis mining developments - Canada can lead on ‘governance’ issues - In conjunction with the opening of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa, The North-South Institute is releasing a policy brief outlining clear directions for governments and corporations proposing to undertake mining activities on or near Indigenous territories. (North-South Institute, 26 Aug. 2002)

• {···français} L’Institut Nord-Sud incite les gouvernements et les entreprises à respecter les droits des peuples autochtones dans le contexte de l’exploitation minière - Le Canada peut donner le pas à la saine gouvernance (L’Institut Nord-Sud, 26 août 2002)

Malaysia names builders for controversial mega-dam - Malaysia appointed builders last week for its long-delayed $2.4 billion Bakun dam, awarding the deal to a consortium led by a unit of local conglomerate Sime Darby, together with a Chinese infrastructure firm. The hydro-electric power project in Malaysia's eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island has enraged environmentalists as it involves flooding a tract of tropical rainforest the size of Singapore and will displace thousands of indigenous people. (Reuters, 26 Aug. 2002)

Innovative measures required to protect indigenous knowledge -...As controversies surrounding indigenous intellectual property rights simmer, UNESCO will hold a major event at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (August 26 to September 4) to highlight innovative approaches to protecting and sharing traditional knowledge. (UNESCO, 22 Aug. 2002)

• {···español} Aprovechar y compartir el saber indígena: Un debate -...En un momento en que los derechos de propiedad intelectual de los indígenas continúan siendo motivo de polémica, la UNESCO celebrará un importante acto en la Cumbre Mundial sobre Desarrollo Sostenible para poner de manifiesto la existencia de otras formas de proteger y compartir los saberes tradicionales. (UNESCO, 22 agosto 2002)

• {···français} L'exploitation et le partage des savoirs autochtones en débat -...Alors que les questions liées aux droits de propriété intellectuelle autochtones continuent à alimenter les controverses, l'UNESCO organise un événement majeur lors du Sommet mondial sur le développement durable, destiné à mieux faire connaître d'autres approches de la protection et du partage des savoirs traditionnels. (UNESCO, 22 août 2002)

Amazon Indians lose appeal of Texaco case ruling - Rainforest Indians of Ecuador and Peru have lost an appeal aimed at reinstating nine-year-old litigation against Texaco, alleging that toxic dumping devastated their environment and exposed residents to cancer-causing pollutants. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a trial court's ruling dismissing two class-action lawsuits on grounds that the United States was not the proper place for the litigation, and that Ecuador would be a more convenient location. (Gail Appleson, Reuters, 21 Aug. 2002)

Spotlight on corporates reveals need for global rules - Some corporations continue to abuse the rights of people, destroy the livelihoods of communities, and pollute water and forest resources for future generations, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth International published today. The report graphically illustrates the need for governments to agree to introduce tighter rules for multinationals at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. (Friends of the Earth, 16 Aug. 2002)

• Call for 'global enviro rules' - The environmental group, Friends of the Earth, on Friday called on world leaders meeting at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to introduce global rules for business....In the report the environmental group mentions the mining giant, Rio Tinto that is prospecting for gold in the Poboya protected forest in Indonesia despite opposition from local people. South Africa's chemical company Sasol also comes under fire. (South African Press Association, 16 Aug. 2002)

• full report: Clashes with Corporate Giants: 22 campaigns for biodiversity and community (Friends of the Earth, Aug. 2002) 

includes section entitled "Towards binding corporate accountability"

also includes the following case studies:

1. Peru: Manhattan Minerals (Tambogrande gold mine)
2. Malaysia: Malaysian timber companies (logging in Sarawak - affecting indigenous peoples)
3. South Africa: Sasol, Total, Dow Chemicals (pollution of poor communities)
4. Russia/Lithuania: Lukoil (Baltic sea drilling)
5. Papua New Guinea: BHP Billiton (OK Tedi mine)
6. Chad/Cameroon: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Petronas (Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline)
7. Ecuador: AGIP, Alberta Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Perez Companc, Repsol-YPF, Techint (oil pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
8. Czech Republic: Ford, Nemak (car plant on agricultural land)
9. Nigeria: Shell (environmental justice issues in Niger Delta)
10. Chile: Noranda (aluminium plant)
11. Worldwide: Aventis, Monsanto (genetically modified food)
12. Colombia: Occidental Petroleum (oil extraction on land of U'wa people)
13. Australia: Barrick Gold (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
14. Brazil: Petrobas, El Paso Energy (gas pipeline, affecting indigenous peoples)
15. Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper (logging of rainforests)
16. Chile: Nutreco (salmon farms)
17. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey: BP (Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline)
18. Malta: Ax Holdings, Carlson Companies, Regent Hotels (golf course on agricultural land)
19. Australia: Nihon Unipac (clearcutting Goolengook Forest)
20. Norway: Bayer, Monsanto, Kanegafuchi (Norwegian sea pollution)
21. Indonesia: Rio Tinto (gold mine, affecting indigenous peoples)
22. UK: Scott's Company (peat extraction for compost)

CorpWatch India Responds to Coca Cola -...To reiterate facts, in Plachimada, Kerala, your Indian subsidiary -- Hindustan Coca Cola -- has been charged with excessive extraction of groundwater, contamination of groundwater and parching of the wells and groundwater sources supplying a large community of farmers, adivasis (indigenous people) and dalits (oppressed castes). (CorpWatch India, 13 Aug. 2002)

{···français} Un pipe-line sème maladies et pollutions en Amazonie - En Équateur, l’oléoduc «El sote» est une catastrophe de 500 kilomètres de long. Gigantesque serpent de métal, le Système d’oléoduc transéquatorien (SOTE) a été construit dans les années septante sous l’impulsion de la Texaco. Depuis 1993, la compagnie américaine est poursuivie en justice par les communautés amérindiennes de l’Équateur, mais aussi du Pérou, pour pollution grave de la forêt amazonienne. Le verdict sera rendu cet automne. (Le Courrier [Genève], 9 août 2002)

Workshop: Places and Spaces for Indigenous Peoples in Sustainable Development - 26 Aug. 2002 - Johannesburg (IUCN - World Conservation Union) [posted to this site on 7 Aug. 2002]

'Naked' natives block illegal loggers in Peru - Hundreds of members of some of the world's last indigenous tribes still living cut off from the outside world have emerged from their isolation to confront illegal mahogany loggers in Peru's southeastern jungle that are invading their land, activists and officials said on Saturday. (Jude Webber, Reuters, 5 Aug. 2002) 

A Call for Case Studies on "Indigenous Peoples, Extractive Industries And The World Bank": Contribution to an Independent Review - Deadline for submission is August 30, 2002 (Tebtebba Foundation & Forest Peoples' Programme) [added to this site on 5 Aug. 2002]

Indigenous Peoples' International Summit on Sustainable Development, Kimberly, South Africa, 20 - 23 August 2002

• Draft agenda - Indigenous Peoples' International Summit on Sustainable Development [includes agenda items on: "Large-Scale Development Projects and Corporations Mines/Dams/Plantations,etc."; "Genetic Resources, Intellectual Property Rights and Traditional Knowledge"] [added to this site on 5 Aug. 2002]

Indigenous peoples' permanent sovereignty over natural resources - Working paper by Erica-Irene A. Daes, former Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (Erica-Irene A. Daes, document for U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 30 July 2002)

[Botswana] Bushmen protests hit USA and Switzerland - Two key diamond markets targeted - The rolling campaign of protests at the illegal eviction of Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve has spread to two of the most important countries for the diamond industry – the USA and Switzerland. (Survival International, 19 July 2002)

Colombian U'wa Indians brace for new battle -...The $98 million in aid [planned U.S. aid package to train a Colombian army battalion] is aimed at preparing Colombian forces to protect an oil pipeline that runs near U'wa territory from attacks by Marxist rebels, but tribal leaders fear it will spread Colombia's 38-year-old war across their land. (Ibon Villelabeitia, Reuters, 10 July 2002)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Venezuela Pushes Heritage Plan At WIPO - Venezuela has brought before the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva a program aimed at preserving the knowledge and heritage of its indigenous people through photographs, video, audio and text and ensuring indigenous groups benefit from the use of the information, El Universal reported yesterday...Proponents say countries and businesses -- mainly cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies -- seek insight from ethnic communities on plants, biodiversity and other traditions but do not compensate them. (UN Wire, 9 July 2002)

• {···español} Tradición indígena protegida - Base de datos para preservar conocimientos ancestrales - Un proyecto recopila a través de fotos, textos, video y sonido información de las etnias venezolanas - Se espera que en un futuro los grupos indígenas puedan obtener beneficios del uso de sus conocimientos (Jenny Lozano, El Universal [Venezuela], 8 julio 2002)

{···español} Grupos indígenas de AL exhortan a gobiernos a proteger la biodiversidad - Rechazan transgénicos y agrotóxicos, en documento final - Organizaciones indígenas, campesinas y sociales de 12 países, reunidas en Guatemala en la segunda Semana por la Diversidad Biológica y Cultural, aseguraron en su declaración final que es responsabilidad de los gobiernos de América Latina y de las empresas biotecnológicas la destrucción de esta riqueza. (Elio Henriquez, La Jornada [México], 3 Julio 2002)

• Indigenous Groups of Latin America exhort governments to Protect Bio-Diversity - In the Final Document they reject transgenic and agro-toxins - Farming and Social indigenous Organizations of 12 countries recently reunited in Guatemala in the second week of Biological and Cultural Diversity, assuring that the destruction of their natural wealth is due to the governments of Latin America, and Bio-Technological companies. (translation of article by Elio Henriquez, La Jornada [Mexico], 3 July 2002)

BHP Billiton - Not just a new face - a new beginning? -...From the Canadian Arctic where it is facing an environmental prosecution, to South America, displacing indigenous people, to labour rights in Mozambique, to Papua New Guinea and clean up of massive destruction caused by two decades of Ok Tedi mining, BHP Billiton has a long path of reform ahead. (Mineral Policy Institute, 1 July 2002)

• company website: BHP Billiton (BHP Billiton)

Making Fair Trade Work in Mexico - In Mexico, a growing number of coops, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), microenterprises, and campesino groups are proving that fair trade offers a viable alternative to communities struggling to cope with globalization [refers to initiatives relating to agriculture, food, cosmetics, coffee, ecotourism, chocolate, retail; also refers to indigenous groups] (Talli Nauman, Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center, July 2002)

A Guide to Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the International Labour Organization - Indigenous peoples throughout the world continue to suffer serious abuses of their human rights. In particular, they are experiencing heavy pressure on their lands from logging, mining, roads, conservation activities, dams, agribusiness and colonization...This Briefing paper provides guidance on how to file a complaint with the ILO Committee of Experts. [refers to ILO Convention 169 cases relating to: logging concessions which overlapped indigenous territories in the Bolivian Amazon; Arco & Berlington Resources Ecuador Ltd. project in Ecuador affecting the Shuar People; Occidental project in Colombia affecting the U’wa indigenous community] (Fergus MacKay, Forest Peoples Programme, July 2002)

Official Says: Puebla-Panama plan is not "savage capitalism" - The coordinator of a mega development project that will extend from southern Mexico to Panama responded Tuesday to its critics, saying the plan is not one of "savage capitalism" and will not destroy the environment or erode Indian rights. (Edgar Hernandez, EFE, 26 June 2002)

Activists Oppose Financing for Peruvian Gas Project - Environmental activists are lobbying hard at the United States Export-Import Bank (Exim) and the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington against loans for a controversial gas and pipeline project in Peru that they say threatens isolated groups of indigenous people and their Amazonian homeland. The project is led by Pluspetrol and Techint, two Argentinian energy companies, Texas-based HuntOil, and includes several other energy companies, including SK Corporation of South Korea, Sonatrach of Algeria, and Peru's own Grana y Montero. Citigroup...has acted as the consortium's chief financial adviser for the project. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 24 June 2002)

• EXIM Bank Urged to Deny Government Loan to Egregious Energy Project in the Amazon - Peru's Uncontacted Indigenous Peoples Threatened by Massive Camisea Gas Project (Amazon Watch, 20 June 2002)

PACE International Union and Ponca Tribe Initiate Legal Action Against Continental Carbon Over Environmental Violations [USA]: Protest at Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality over Agency Inaction - The Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) and representatives of the Ponca Indian Tribe today served Continental Carbon Company and its Taiwan- based parent companies, China Synthetic Rubber Company and Taiwan Cement Corp., with a "Notice of Intent to Sue" for alleged violations of state and federal environmental laws in Ponca City, Okla. (PACE International Union, 19 June 2002)

Report of the Workshop on Indigenous Peoples, Private Sector Natural Resource, Energy and Mining Companies and Human Rights - Geneva, 5-7 December 2001 - Chairperson-Rapporteur: Mr. Wilton Littlechild (document for U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 17 June 2002)

Bushmen campaign spreads to Canada - Protests outside diamond conference - In another sign that the campaign for Gana and Gwi Bushmen rights [in Botswana] is spreading across the world, Survival has learnt that there was a large protest today outside the World Diamond Conference in Vancouver, Canada. (Survival International, 17 June 2002)

Forest workers sympathize with Haida [Canada]: Weyerhaeuser policy on logging imperils livelihoods, they say - Disgruntled Weyerhaeuser Co. employees on British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands are declaring their disdain for the Federal Way-based forest-product company and seeking an alliance with the native inhabitants of the archipelago. (Paul Shukovsky, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 6 June 2002)

• QC loggers walk off job, join Haida [Canada] - Weyerhaeuser crews fearful of job cuts say they'd rather throw their lot in with natives - A group of Queen Charlotte Islands loggers walked off the job Monday and announced they were joining forces with the Haida in their fight for aboriginal control over island resources. (Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, 4 June 2002)

Peru – alert over loggers - An increasing number of loggers are now encroaching on the land of uncontacted Indians in south-east Peru...The land the loggers are entering, home to groups of the Yora, Amahuaca and Piro tribes, is one of three reserves for isolated Indians in south-east Peru, and is therefore meant to be protected by law. (Survival International, June 2002)

India's Supreme Court closes isolated Jarawa tribe's 'road of death' [court orders the withdrawal of encroachers from the tribes' land, an end to logging of their forests and the closure of the Andaman Trunk Road] (Survival International, 27 May 2002)

UNDP's Equator Initiative To Spotlight Partnerships that Work -...Using the old ways and methods, there are indigenous people in the Amazon who can make natural rubber into a material that is virtually indistinguishable from leather. And now, models are parading skirts and handbags made of that mock-leather on runways in Paris, New York, and Rio. The initiative is a partnership between an entrepreneur, a non-governmental organization and a local people that has worked to protect the rainforest, provide steady incomes, and maintain traditional customs. (United Nations, 22 May 2002)

Last stand of the Kalahari's hunter-gatherers [Botswana] -...the state is helping to speed up the process by moving the desert-dwellers [Basarwa bushmen] off their ancestral lands and into permanent settlements...Although hotly denied by Debswana, the state's joint venture with mining company De Beers, and the Ministry of Minerals, non-government organisations also suspect there may be mineral rights issues involved. (James Lamont, Financial Times, 18 May 2002)

• Today, the Basarwa, who's next? [Botswana] - Mmegi's editorial (5 April) accuses the United Nations of discourtesy in its condemnation of Botswana's treatment of the Basarwa; it asks why these peoples should not be removed from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) when others in Botswana have been relocated to make way for diamond mines...If the government had been open about its desires in the first place, explained that it wanted to develop the area for mining, and negotiated calmly and honestly with the Basarwa and their representatives, then it seems likely that a fair agreement could have been reached. [refers to De Beers] (Survival International, in Mmegi, The Reporter in Botswana, 19-25 Apr. 2002)

• Editorial: UN is mistaken over Basarwa (Mmegi, The Reporter in Botswana, 5 Apr. 2002)

• UN condemns Botswana's 'dispossession' of bushmen (Mmegi, The Reporter in Botswana, 5 Apr. 2002)

{···español} Sospecha rodea muerte de dirigentes indígenas [Ecuador] - El accidente de una avioneta en que murieron hace seis días tres dirigentes del pueblo shuar enfrentados con la compañía petrolera Burlington, en el suroriente de Ecuador, pudo ser consecuencia de un sabotaje, advirtieron organizaciones indígenas. (Kintto Lucas, IPS, La Hora [Ecuador], 16 mayo 2002)

North American Indigenous Mining Summit - June 12-15, 2002 (added to this site 13 May 2002)

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: U.N. Forum Meets For First Time - The U.N. Economic and Social Council's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today begins its first annual two-week meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York, bringing together indigenous leaders and civil society representatives...The body is charged with advising the Economic and Social Council on development, culture, human rights, the environment, education and health and with raising awareness, promoting the integration of U.N. activities related to indigenous peoples and preparing and disseminating information (UN Wire, 13 May 2002)

• Historic Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues breaks new ground for world's indigenous peoples (United Nations, 10 May 2002)

Occidental Pipeline in Colombia Strikes It Rich in Washington - The Bush Administration has proposed $98 million in military aid to protect Occidental's Cano-Limon pipeline in Colombia, despite its environmental and economic liabilities. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 10 May 2002)

• Occidental Returns Siriri Oil Block to Colombia - Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum withdrew from an oil field belonging to the indigenous U'wa people, but the company will continue oil extraction in Colombia (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 9 May 2002)

Our organizations respectfully urge the Export-Import Bank of the United States to reject financing currently under consideration for all aspects of Peru's Camisea gas development project. Public funds of the United States government should not be invested in a project that will provoke an array of insurmountable and unavoidable environmental and social impacts on vulnerable, isolated indigenous peoples... (letter to Export-Import Bank of the U.S. from Amazon Watch, Friends of the Earth International, Rainforest Action Network, Pacific Environment, Sustainable Energy and Economy Network-Institute for Policy Studies, Reform the World Bank Campaign, 9 May 2002)

Independent Evaluation of Peru's Camisea Gas Project Reveals Violations of World Bank Environmental Standards -...The Project will have negative irreversible impacts on the biodiversity of this area and on indigenous groups living in isolation, regardless of the implementation of the strictest mitigation measures...Neither the upstream nor the downstream component of the Project meets World Bank environmental guidelines and operational policies (Amazon Watch, 6 May 2002)

• full report: An Independent Environmental and Social Assessment of the Camisea Gas Project [Peru] [companies referred to include Pluspetrol, Hunt Oil, SK Corporation, Sonatrach, G y M, Tecgas, Hidrocarburos Andino S.A.C.] (Patricia B. Caffrey, commissioned by Peruvian indigenous organisations: The Machiguenga Council of the Urubamba River (COMARU) and the Inter-Ethnic Association of the Peruvian Amazon (AIDESEP), Apr. 2002)

• {···español} Estudio Ambiental y Social Independiente del Proyecto de Gas Camisea [Perú] (Patricia B. Caffrey, por encargo de las organizaciones indígenas del Perú: Consejo Machiguenga del Rio Urubamba (COMARU) y la Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), abril 2002)

Picketers protest Occidental drilling - A noisy group of about 20 sign-waving demonstrators marched outside the annual meeting of Occidental Petroleum Corp. last week to protest the prospect the company could drill for oil in a war-torn region of Colombia they say belongs to the U'wa Indian tribe. (Doug Young, Reuters, 6 May 2002)

Miners urged to lead the way on development issues: The mining industry must take the initiative in standardising its approach to social, economic and environmental considerations, according to a new report from the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project [includes comments by Rio Tinto] (Andy Blamey, Reuters, 3 May 2002)

• final report: Breaking New Ground: Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development (MMSD - Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project, International Institute for Environment and Development, May 2002)

• Report calls for sweeping changes in industry - A two-year study of the mining industry has found it must make sweeping changes to its social and environmental standards if it is to improve its image with investors, lenders and the public (Matthew Jones, Financial Times, 2 May 2002)

• Prospecting for mining balance: A global initiative aims to improve the sector's sustainable development record (Sir Robert Wilson, Chairman of Rio Tinto & of the Global Mining Initiative, in Financial Times, 2 May 2002)

Conflict Prevention and Revenue-Sharing Regimes: Prepared for the United Nations Global Compact Policy Dialogue: Business in Zones of Conflict [refers to mining industry; oil industry; World Bank; Shell; BP; Angola; Statoil; indigenous peoples; Western Mining Co., Normandy Mining; Rio Tinto; BHP-Billiton; Social investment projects: Freeport McMoRan in Irian Jaya, Placer Dome in Papua New Guinea, Newmont & Rio Tinto in Indonesia; Natural resource funds in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Alaska/USA, Chad-Cameroon pipeline - ExxonMobil - Petronas - Chevron, Nigeria]  (Juliette Bennett, May 2002)

Brazil: nomads face extinction - One of the last nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil faces extinction. Surrounded by massive cattle ranches, loggers and hundreds of illegal settlers, the Awá Indians of Maranhão state are being squeezed off their land, while ranchers' hired gunmen kill those they find. But an imminent court case about Awá land could make all the difference. (Survival International, May 2002)

Conserve huge Guianan rainforest in South America, scientists urge - The region accounts for more than a quarter of the globe's remaining tropical rain forests and includes parts of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela and all of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana...At least one hundred Amerindian cultures are spread throughout the area...Unsustainable logging, poor mining practices, and expanding human settlements have affected significant areas and could increase dramatically. (U.N. Development Programme, 26 Apr. 2002)

A New Wave of Penan Blockades [Malaysia]: The Penan, Kayan and Kenyah protest against logging and sand mining activities on native land - This is the first time in more than ten years that numerous Sarawak native communities have organized to put up blockades simultaneously in various locations to draw the attention of the Malaysian authorities to their plight. (Thomas Jalong, from a Sahabat Alam Malaysia Press Release, 23 Apr. 2002)

Mexican [indigenous] groups appeal to NAFTA environmental commission to force action against genetic contamination (Greenpeace, 23 Apr. 2002)

Eight "eco-heroes" win global environment prize [Goldman environmental prize] (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 23 Apr. 2002)

• Native Arctic Defenders, Somali Woman Among Winners of 2002 Goldman Environmental Prize: World's Largest Award for Grassroots Environmentalists [winners include an ecologist who works with fishers to protect & restore Thailand's coastal ecosystems devastated by industrial fishing & increased logging; a conservationist who has used eco-tourism to preserve Poland's traditional family farms; Gwich'in tribal leaders who have successfully defended the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling; an indigenous Guyanese woman who has overcome harassment to protect Amerindian lands from mining] (Goldman Environmental Prize, 22 Apr. 2002)

• {···español} Defensores Nativos del Ártico y Mujer Somalí entre los Ganadores del Premio Ambiental Goldman 2002: El Galardón Más Grande del Mundo para Activistas Ecologistas (Premio Ambiental Goldman, 22 abril 2002)

• {···français} Une Femme Somalienne et des Natifs Défenseurs de l’Artique parmi les Lauréats du Prix Goldman de l'Environnement 2002: La Plus Importante Récompense Mondiale pour les Environnementalistes Populaires (Prix Goldman de l'Environnement, 22 avril 2002)

• {···português} Defensores do Ártico nativos e mulher somali entre os ganhadores do Prêmio Goldman de Meio Ambiente: O maior prêmio mundial concedido a defensores do meio ambiente (Prêmio Goldman de Meio Ambiente, 22 abril 2002)

UN conference backs indigenous peoples drug payout: A global environmental conference last week hammered out guidelines to encourage big business to pay indigenous communities for the right to use native plants to make commercial drugs and cosmetics. (Otti Thomas, Reuters, 22 Apr. 2002)

Rio meeting backs World Bank Latam mining aid -...Industry, aid and indigenous people's groups last week gave qualified support for the World Bank's activities in Latin American oil, gas and minerals extraction. "But while the Rio meeting did not ask the Bank to withdraw from oil, gas and mining in Latin America, it raised many questions that would call for significant changes in the way it operates...," a World Bank review team stated...Around 90 delegates discussed the importance of World Bank financing and environmental standards-setting in projects such as the Brazil-Bolivia gas pipeline, copper mining in Chile and small mines in Ecuador. (Reuters, 22 Apr. 2002)

Former employee blows whistle on Rio Tinto's Kakadu uranium mine [Australia]: Senate Inquiry needed to investigate history of environmental failures - Key national and NT environment groups have today joined the call by the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation for a Senate Inquiry into the adequacy of environmental regulation and monitoring at the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu. (Australian Conservation Foundation, 19 Apr. 2002)

Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest Gains Reprieve: Government Oil Firm Recommends Reduced Oil Development; Cites Community Resistance - A mega oil development planned for the Ecuadorian Amazon may be radically reduced in size, in response to opposition by indigenous groups. (EarthRights International, 18 Apr. 2002)

• A Rainforest’s Reprieve: Ecuador’s Indians Win A Round Against Oil Development (Kenny Bruno, EarthRights International, 18 Apr. 2002)

• {···español} Proyecto de novena ronda petrolera con 6 bloques (El Universo [Ecuador], 17 abril 2002)

UN moves to curb bio-piracy (Tim Hirsch, BBC News, 17 Apr. 2002)

{···español} Greenpeace plantea demanda contra banco que financia el OCP [Ecuador]: La organización ecologista Greenpeace presentó un recurso al Gobierno del estado federado alemán de Renania del Norte-Westfalia contra un crédito del banco Westdeutsche Landesbank para la construcción del Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP)...Para la experta, el oleoducto...destruirá las selvas del país y los fundamentos de la vida de los pueblos indígenas y de especies animales amenazadas. Además, según greenpeace existe el peligro de que, a través de derramamientos accidentales de petróleo, se contaminen los suelos y las reservas de agua potable. (La Hora [Ecuador], 5 abril 2002)

The Cost of Living Richly: Citigroup’s Global Finance and Threats to the Environment - Citi-financed projects, say environmentalists, are promoting environmental insecurity — not only damaging local ecosystems, but undermining the livelihood of communities around the world and threatening the well-being of people across the globe through climate change (Ilyse Hogue, global finance campaigner with the Rainforest Action Network, in Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Peru’s Camisea Project [gas project] -...consortium members include PlusPetrol from Argentina, Hunt Oil from the United States, the South Korean SK Corporation and others (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Ecuador’s OCP Pipeline [oil pipeline] -...Citigroup denies any involvement with the OCP Pipeline, since it is not the direct financier of the project. But it was lead arranger for a $200 million line of credit for Perez Companc that was provided the financial stability the company needed to participate in the pipeline venture. (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Thailand’s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Company [processes gas from the Yadana and Yetagun gas pipelines in Burma] (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• Citigroup Controversy: Papua New Guinea’s Gobe Oil Fields [Chevron project] (Ilyse Hogue, Multinational Monitor, Apr. 2002)

• company website: Citigroup

Report of the In-Depth Study Session on the World Trade Organisation for Human Rights Professionals: 1-2 February 2002 [includes sections on: "Trade liberalisation, Development and Human Rights";  "The Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), Traditional Knowledge, and Indigenous Peoples' Rights"] (Secretariat of the Study Session on the WTO / 3D Associates, Apr. 2002)

Bushmen victory over drug firms [South Africa]: They have faced extinction and poverty for hundreds of years, but now the San Bushmen of southern Africa stand to make millions of pounds from a so-called miracle slimming pill being developed by Western drug companies...'It's a lesson to corporations that they can't come in and patent traditional knowledge on plants from local communities and get away with it.' [refers to Pfizer] (Antony Barnett, Observer [UK], 31 Mar. 2002)

• San people demand compensation from pharmaceutical companies: The Mail & Guardian reports that South Africa's Kung tribe are demanding compensation as their ancient knowledge has been "stolen" to produce a slimming miracle drug that is set to take the world by storm. (WildNet Africa, 25 June 2001)

{···español} Mapuches demandan a Repsol [la empresa Repsol-YPF] por 445 millones [Argentina]: Presentan hoy ante el juzgado federal un reclamo civil por esa suma (en dólares) a raíz los daños producidos por la explotación de hidrocarburos. (Diario Río Negro [Argentina], 27 marzo 2002)

Finland reindeer herders want halt to logging: Northern Finland's reindeer-herding Sami people appealed last week for loggers to be kept out of the region's last virgin forests so as to protect the grazing and safeguard their age-old livelihood. (Reuters, 25 Mar. 2002) 

{···español} Gobierno usa la fuerza contra indígenas [Ecuador]: El defensor del Pueblo, Claudio Mueckay, exhortó al ministro de Gobierno, Marcelo Merlo, para que cesen los procedimientos de fuerza que adoptan contra las comunas indígenas. El Defensor del Pueblo explicó que los procedimientos de fuerza se refieren a los indígenas, colonos y campesinos con motivo de la construcción del OCP y de la exploración y explotación petrolera en las provincias de Sucumbíos y Orellana. (La Hora [Ecuador], 22 marzo 2002)

ICFTU report condemns Mexican core labour rights abuses: Fierce anti-union discrimination, shocking working conditions in the maquiladoras, some 1.5 million unrecognised domestic workers with no legal rights and widespread discrimination against women and the indigenous population: these are among the findings of a new critical report on Mexico released by the ICFTU to coincide with the 20-22 March WTO trade policy review of the country. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 20 Mar. 2002)

• {···español} Informe de la CIOSL condena los atropellos mexicanos de los derechos sindicales fundamentales: Feroz discriminación antisindical, abrumadoras condiciones de trabajo en las maquiladoras, alrededor de 1,5 millón de trabajadores y trabajadoras domésticos no declarados que no tienen ningún derecho legal y difundida discriminación contra la mujer y la población indígena (Confederación Internacional de Organizaciones Sindicales Libres, 20 marzo 2002)

• {···français} Un rapport de la CISL condamne des atteintes contre les droits fondamentaux du travail au Mexique: Une discrimination antisyndicale féroce, des conditions de travail scandaleuses dans les maquiladoras, près de 1,5 million de travailleurs domestiques non reconnus et ne jouissant d'aucun droit légal, de même qu'une discrimination généralisée à l'encontre des femmes et des populations autochtones (Confédération internationale des syndicats libres, 20 mars 2002) 

{···español} Instancia decisiva en litigio con la Texaco [Ecuador]: La justicia de Estados Unidos deberá fallar esta semana sobre la procedencia de una demanda iniciada en 1993 por indígenas de Ecuador contra la compañía petrolera ChevronTexaco, a la que acusan de contaminar la selva amazónica. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in La Hora [Ecuador], 17 marzo 2002)  

Billowing Rage [India]: The Sukruli cauldron threatens to boil over if the Orissa government does not act against the smoke-spewing sponge iron plant in the area...tribal women have held three demonstrations in Bhubaneswar and Baripada against Shiv Shakti Sponge Iron Limited (SSSIL), whose carbon monoxide, sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions have become a nightmare for the 15,000-odd villagers residing in the Sukruli block of Mayurbhanj district. (Satyasundar Barik, in Down to Earth, Centre for Science and Environment [India], 15 Mar. 2002)

Ecuador Amazon Indians appeal Texaco-case ruling: Rainforest Indians of Ecuador and Peru urged a U.S. appeals court to reinstate nine-year-old litigation against Texaco, alleging that toxic dumping devastated their environment and exposed residents to cancer-causing pollutants (Gail Appleson, Reuters, 13 Mar. 2002)

The Uructu-Porto Velho Gas Pipeline: At What Cost to Indigenous Peoples? [Brazil]...Indigenous peoples and representatives of the gas pipeline company Petrobas have been recently involved in discussions initiated by environmental organizations. (Cultural Survival, 11 Mar. 2002)

Rainforest Indians [from Ecuador] in New York for major showdown with Chevron-Texaco: Billions at stake as tribal leaders press groundbreaking lawsuit before Appeals Court - Assert Texaco ruined their rivers and land, destroying their centuries-old way of life...and dramatically increased the risk of cancer for tens of thousands of people. (Frente para la Defensa de la Amazonia, 11 Mar. 2002)

Indians take dam protest to Chilean president: Angry at a Spanish-owned company's [Endesa Chile, majority owned by Spain's Endesa] plans to build a dam that would destroy Indian homes, Chilean indigenous activists took their protest to the presidential palace on Friday (Reuters, 8 Mar. 2002)

{···español} TC define caso Texaco [Ecuador]: La suerte del juicio que los colonos e indígenas amazónicos plantearon en contra de la petrolera Texaco desde 1993 por perjuicios al medio ambiente en una corte de la ciudad de Nueva York, se definirá en los próximos días en el Tribunal Constitucional. (La Hora [Ecuador], 7 marzo 2002)

New Report Finds That Conserving the World's Forests Depends on Support for Community-Based Forest Enterprises: Indigenous and Local Groups Now Control 25 Percent Of Developing World's Forests...The report cites 57 countries with at least one existing partnership between forest industry and local communities. (Future Harvest, 7 Mar. 2002)

{···español} Indígenas burlados por compañías petroleras [Ecuador]: Las comunidades huaorani de Ecuador aceptaron unos pocos alimentos, medicinas y utensilios a cambio de permitir a la petrolera italiana Agip Oil explorar su territorio, lo cual constituye "una burla a los derechos colectivos" de los indígenas, afirmó la organización ambientalista Acción Ecológica. (La Hora [Ecuador], 4 marzo 2002)

Bio "gold" rush in Chiapas on hold [Mexico]: A $2.5 million project to research Chiapas plants for possible commercial use was halted after it roused the ire of indigenous rights activists. When does "bioprospecting" become "biopiracy"? (Barbara Belejack, NACLA Report on the Americas [North American Congress on Latin America], Mar.-Apr. 2002)

Guatemala: the lethal legacy of impunity...The case of Edgar Ordóñez is illustrative of human rights violations committed in modern-day Guatemala in the context of the so-called "corporate mafia state" in which certain economic actors, including subsidiaries of some multinational corporations, collude with sectors of the police and military and common criminals to pursue their mutual economic interests (Amnesty International, 28 Feb. 2002)

Ecuador: Emergency Action Alert - OCP Protesters in Amazon Attacked by Military!...Protests against Ecuador’s new OCP pipeline turned fatal yesterday as thousands of striking OCP construction workers and local residents in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon were attacked by the country’s armed forces...For over thirty years, state and foreign oil companies like Texaco and Occidental Petroleum have pumped the region for billions of barrels of oil, while indigenous communities, local farmers, and townspeople have watched it descend into environmental, social, and economic ruin. (Amazon Watch, 28 Feb. 2002)

Ecuador hopes for settlement in ChevronTexaco case: Ecuador's attorney general said this week he is fighting to help indigenous groups settle a nine-year-old lawsuit charging that water contamination by oil giant Texaco Inc. caused more than $120 million in damages and injuries. (Manuela Badawy, Reuters, 28 Feb. 2002)

Support the Mohawks of Kanesatake [Canada] ­ Demand Action to Stop Niocan: On February 14, the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake passed a resolution to protect their traditional territory from a niobium mine that will affect their waters and lands. They are demanding a full environmental assessment conducted by Québec and the Federal government of the Niocan project, preferably jointly. (MiningWatch Canada-Mines Alerte, 27 Feb. 2002)

• {···français} Appuyez les Mohawks de Kanesatake ­ Arrêtez Niocan [Canada]: Le 14 février dernier, le Conseil Mohawk de Kanesatake a adopté une résolution visant à protéger son territoire traditionnel contre un projet de développement d'une mine de niobium qui aura des effets néfastes sur les cours d'eau et les terres. Le Conseil exige que le projet Niocan fasse l'objet d'une étude environnementale détaillée de la part de Québec et du gouvernement fédéral, préférablement de manière conjointe. (MiningWatch Canada-Mines Alerte, 6 mars 2002)

• company website: Niocan Inc. (Niocan Inc.)

Brazil starts mapping medicinal plant potential:...With the new center, Brazil hopes to uncover and document more herbal remedies in a bid to preserve and protect its valuable plant species from bio-pirates who frequently coerce poor Amazon tribes into extracting plant remedies for export. (Katherine Baldwin, Reuters, 26 Feb. 2002)

Verdict Still Out on Costa Rica Offshore Drilling: Although American companies Harken Energy and MKL-Xplorations purchased the rights to drill for oil off the coast of Costa Rica in 1998, drilling has not started as local organizations voice concerns. (Anne Moore Odell, SocialFunds.com, 20 Feb. 2002)

{···español} Miles de indígenas afectados: El cáncer del petróleo [Ecuador] - Una alta incidencia de cáncer se manifiesta entre las comunidades asentadas en áreas petroleras de la Amazonia de Ecuador, y el riesgo de contraer esa enfermedad es allí tres veces superior a otras partes del país, asegura una investigación médica. (La Hora [Ecuador], 14 febrero 2002)

• full text: Business & Human Rights: A geography of corporate risk - Amnesty International and The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) have collaborated to produce a series of seven detailed world maps, which depict where human rights abuses and violations exist and where leading North American and European multinational companies are at risk of being associated with them. The suite of maps covers the extractive, food and beverages, pharmaceutical and chemical, infrastructure and utilities, heavy manufacturing and defence, and IT Hardware and telecommunications sectors. (Amnesty International UK, and Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, Feb. 2002)

• Atlas pinpoints countries where investment flows despite abuses: A world atlas of countries where multinationals co-exist with regimes inflicting human rights abuse was presented yesterday at the launch of a campaign for ethical investment...The study, the first of its kind, will be used by Amnesty International and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum to press companies to take account of human rights when making commercial decisions. (Kim Sengupta, Independent [UK], 13 Feb. 2002)

• Atlas warns firms of rights abuses: Campaigners have drawn up a world atlas of human rights violations to alert multinational corporations to the damage that can be caused to their business and reputations by being associated with human rights abuses in countries in which they operate (Guardian [UK], 13 Feb. 2002)

Forests of Fear: Stopping human rights abuses is key to solving forest crisis - A new report clearly links the disappearance of the world's forests with the horrifying catalogue of human rights abuses taking place as a result of conflicts between forest peoples and the powerful government and corporate interests within forests. (Boreal Footprint Project, 12 Feb. 2002)

• full report: Forests of Fear: The Abuse of Human Rights in Forest Conflicts [refers to countries including Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Venezuela, Brazil, USA; refers to companies including Tanjung Lingga, London Sumatra, TVI, Rio Tinto, Daishowa Logging, RAPP, April, UPM-Kymmene, Samling, Lajung Lumber, Shin Yang, Rawood, Interfor (International Forest Products), Boise Cascade, Repap, Fletcher Challenge (now TimberWest), Mitsubishi, Occidental Petroleum, Freeport-McMoRan, Chevron]  (Fern, Dec. 2001)

Indigenous Peoples Meet at First Indigenous Peoples Global Conference to Set Priorities and Impact New UN Body [U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues] - Peru President Alejandro Toledo to Give Keynote Address Via Video - New York City - February 21-24, 2002:...Workshops will examine the impact of economic development and extractive industries (oil, diamonds and uranium). (Partnership for Indigenous Peoples Environment, 1 Feb. 2002)

Stop human rights violations against peasant farmers! [Indonesia]: The pattern of human rights violations arising from land conflicts during the Suharto era still persists today, more than three years since the dictator was forced to resign...In West Papua investors are being encouraged to take advantage of the territory's land, timber and mineral wealth. In Kalimantan and Sumatra communities are losing lands to oil palm developments. Forest peoples are losing out in agreements with entrepreneurs who buy up community rights over forests at minimal prices so that they can get at the timber. The medium-scale exploitation of coal and gold continuing in some parts of Sulawesi and Kalimantan is putting more pressure on peasant and indigenous communities as well as poisoning the lands and water courses. (Down to Earth Newsletter, Feb. 2002) 

Ecuador, Defending the Amazon (Peter Lippman, The Advocacy Project, Feb. 2002)

chapters include:

• Introduction: Environmental Assault and Grassroots Resistance - For thirty years, one of the richest bioregions on the planet has been under assault from international oil companies. 

• Risky Business: The Oil Industry and Its Legacy of Pollution [refers to Texaco, Arco, Agip]

• The New Oil Pipeline: A Long Battle

• Legal Issues: The Right to Consultation and the Texaco Lawsuit

Indigenous Peoples Decry War and Oil: Native peoples from nine countries of Latin America and the Caribbean drew up strategies and issued declarations against the anti-drug Plan Colombia, the Colombian civil war and against petroleum and mining activities on their lands, during a weekend meet in the Ecuadorian capital. (Kintto Lucas, Inter Press Service, 21 Jan. 2002)

Aerial Herbicide Spraying Violates Human Rights of Peasants and Indigenous Communities in Colombia and Ecuador: Earthjustice Urges the UN Commission on Human Rights to Act - The statement claims that the aerial spraying and drift of an herbicide mixture over vast areas of the Colombian and Ecuadorian countryside by private U.S. defense contractors with military protection is harming peasants and indigenous communities and depriving them of “their rights to a clean and healthy environment, health, life, sustenance, property, inviolability of the home and family, and access to information.” (Earthjustice, 15 Jan. 2002)

UK Bank Offers Green Mortgages: Co-operative Bank...has gone out on a limb to provide its customers a "carbon-neutral" mortgage product. The bank conducts free energy checks on financed buildings to determine how much carbon is needed to operate them. It then plants trees in Uganda to offset the projected emissions while helping indigenous populations. (Susan Wennemyr, SocialFunds.com, 14 Jan. 2002)

Nomadic folk can wander no more [regarding the Agta indigenous group in Philippines]: “There came a time when we couldn’t wander anymore,” said David, 50, in fluent Tagalog. “There simply were no boars and deer to hunt. Life had become hard for us.”...The real culprit was corporate logging. (Maurice Malanes, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9 Jan. 2002)

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere To Hide [Philippines]: The Agtas, peace-loving dwellers and guardians of Sierra Madre's forests, are slowly and painfully being erased from the Philippine anthropological picture, by oppression, exploitation and modernization..."Fifty summers ago, we were a proud race of people. Then the Ilokanos came, Ifugaos, Itnegs bringing along logging and mining. Our lives were never the same again."...In Salak's tribe, five women were raped by gold prospectors and loggers. (Michael A. Bengwayan, Fellow of the New York-based Echoing Green Foundation, 8 Jan. 2002)

Walden Asset Management Announces Shareholder Advocacy Actions for 2002 [includes shareholder resolutions on the following issues & companies: Climate Change - Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco and Occidental Petroleum; Mercury Pollution - J.C. Penney and HCA; Indigenous Peoples' Rights - Lehman Brothers; Sweatshop/Vendor Standards - TJX, Kohl's, Delphi Automotive, Hasbro, Sears and Lowes; Health Risk Caused by Cigarette Filters - Eastman Chemical; Drug Accessibility - Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb; impact of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas - BP Amoco] (Walden Asset Management, 4 Jan. 2002)

Honduras looks to develop northern coast; Garifuna fight to keep beaches (Traci Carl, Associated Press, Environmental News Network website, 2 Jan. 2002)

The International Labour Organization: a handbook for minorities and indigenous peoples - This handbook gives an insider's view of how the ILO works. It explains how the Organization can be used by non-governmental organisations and other groups, to promote and protect minority and indigenous peoples' rights. (Chandra Roy and Mike Kaye,  Anti-Slavery International & Minority Rights Group International, 2002)

Wake-up call: Sheila Watt-Cloutier describes the Inuit fight against chemical pollution that threatens their health and culture (Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Canada, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2002)

• {···español} Una llamada para despertar al mundo: Sheila Watt-Cloutier describe la lucha del pueblo inuit contra la contaminación de los productos químicos que está amenazando su salud y su cultura

• {···français} La sonnette d’alarme: Sheila Watt-Cloutier décrit le combat des Inuit contre la pollution chimique qui menace leur santé et leur culture