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Pacific Rim in El SalvadorThe accused is the Canadian based Pacific Rim Mining Corporation for its activities in the Department of Cabañas in El Salvador.
Testimony :
Saúl Baños (Mesa Nacional frente a la MinerÃa Metálica de El Salvador)
Gold - impunity
and violence
Testimony
Interrogation
Pacific Rim
Marcelo Rivera
Agua de oroEl Salvador
Summary:
  When Pacific Rim carried out exploratory activities in the region the local communities, who were well aware of the impacts of mining operations, denied Pacific Rim further access to their lands. Indeed, a Report of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature about the El Dorado mine project confirmed the communities' concerns, especially referring to environmental damage, reduction of access to water, water pollution and impacts over health and agriculture.
  The intention of Pacific Rim to exploit the gold mine in Cabañas has originated conflicts, worsened social divisions, and incremented threats and violence which still have to be investigated, like the murder of several environmental activists in 2011.
  Pacific Rim, even without producing sufficient environmental studies, denied all of these allegations and sued the government of El Salvador for 300 million dollars before the ICSID Tribunal of the World Bank, even though the core of the controversy is not with the state but with the independently organised communities that would be affected by the mining project.
  International Investment Law has to foster transparent and strongly guaranteeing regimes, however these should be compatible with international and national human rights standards instead of undermining them, in this case especially with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Constitution and Environmental Law of the Republic of El Salvador.
Session of the Permanent People's Tribunal on Human Rights Violations Committed by the Transnationals,
Geneva 23 June 2014
  A number of cases of human rights violations by Transnational Corporations has been presented at the Permanent Peoples Tribunal (PPT) Hearing being held in Geneva on June 23. The one-day Hearing of the PPT is being prepared by The Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power & Stop Impunity together with Swiss-based social organizations and movements, and affected communities from different global regions. The PPT is an Opinion Tribunal, which follows on the tradition of the Russell Tribunals on the Vietnam War and the Dictatorships in Latin America and was established in 1979 in the framework of the Algiers Universal Declaration of the Rights of Peoples.
  The PPT has held almost 40 sessions addressing systematic violations of human rights and peoples rights including a Session on the World Bank, European TNCs in Latin America and Bhopal and it is one of few international institutions where affected communities can directly present cases of violations of human rights perpetrated by Transnational Corporations.
  Some of the cases that has been heard include Chevron in Ecuadorean Amazon, Shell in Nigeria, Glencore in several countries (such as the Philippines, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru and Colombia), Pacific Rim in El Salvador, Lonmin in South Africa, Coca-cola in Colombia, Mekorot in Palestine and Hidralia in Guatemala.
  The Panel of Jurors is presided by Juan Hernandez Zubizarreta (Basque Country) and composed by Beverley Keene (Argentina) Francesco Martone (Italy), Renata Reis (Brazil), Roberto Schiattarella (Italy) and Jean Ziegler (Switzerland).
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