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Rights Action - December 20, 2010
Canada and Goldcorp Mining Impunity

GOLDCORP & THE DOW JONES SUSTAINABILITY INDEX (NORTH AMERICA): 
With "sustainability" like this, who needs human rights violations, health harms and environmental destruction?

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December 20, 2010

Dow Jones Sustainability Index (North America)
SAM Indexes GmbH
Josefstrasse 218
8005 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel. +41 44 653 1802, Fax +41 44 653 1810
Email indexes@sam-group.com, www.sustainability-indexes.com

To Whom It May Concern:

Over the past 8 years in Honduras and 6 years in Guatemala, Rights Action has been supporting community based struggles related to environmental and health harms and other human rights violations caused directly and directly by Goldcorp Inc's open-pit, cyanide leaching mines: the "San Martin" mine in Honduras, the "Marlin" mine in Guatemala.

Recently, Goldcorp Inc announced that "it will be added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America (DJSI North America), effective December 20, 2010."  Reading this, we were reminded of the old saying "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"  Or, in the context of mining: 'With "sustainability" like this, who needs human rights violations, health harms and environmental destruction?'

QUESTIONS FOR THE DJSI North America 
Below, we set out a summary of harms and violations caused by Goldcorp's mines in Guatemala and Honduras, as documented by a range of Central and North American and European organizations (NGOs and solidarity groups; the International Labour Organization; the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights; church groups; universities; etc).

We write the DJSI North America to ask:

• What criteria do you use to determine what constitutes valid and merit-worthy "sustainability"?
• What and who were your sources of information with respect to concluding that Goldcorp Inc. is operating its mines in a merit-worthy "sustainable" manner?
• Will you agree to send an investigatory mission to Guatemala and Honduras, to carry out a full and proper investigation into the harms and violations summarized below, half of the time of which would be set up and attended to by Rights Action and other groups that we work with in these countries?

HARMS & VIOLATIONS 
We believe that if you properly study Goldcorp's mining record in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as in other countries across Latin America, you will conclude that much of Goldcorp's extraordinarily high profits come from what can only be termed unjust enrichment, in the broadest sense of that expression.

We believe you will conclude there nothing "sustainable" about their operations with respect to the needs and rights of the harmed communities; that the only thing "sustainable" are the extraordinarily high profits flowing north to North America company directors, shareholders and investors.

In Honduras and Guatemala, where we (and many other small groups) have worked for many years in support of and alongside Goldcorp-affected communities - poor indigenous and campesino communities -, Goldcorp has directly and indirectly caused environmental and health harms and other human rights violations.  They have done so with impunity.

· Initial and prior violation of indigenous and human rights, through lack of free, prior and informed consultation with and consent from affected campesino and indigenous communities. This initial and prior problem is made possible by a fundamental lack of democracy and by a manipulated and corrupted administration of justice in both countries.  This is widely documented and known.

· Illegal and/or forced evictions of families and communities; manipulated and sometimes pressured purchases of property from impoverished local communities.  These problems include: not informing local communities about the mining prospects; undervaluing the land ("preying on the poverty" of the local population); forcing and pressuring people to sell their land; paying different prices to community members, creating divisions and tensions at the local level, between family and community members.

· Further sowing division in families and communities, as Goldcorp offers low-skill employment to poor, local men (and some women), again preying on the poverty and generalized lack of employment.  These divisions are occurring in Guatemala and Honduras that have not recovered from the trauma and legacy of the State-sponsored terrorism and repression of the 1970s through to the early 1990s.

· Moreover, Goldcorp is now apparently trying to re-open its mine in Honduras, soon after the elected government of President Zelaya was overthrown in a violent military coup, June 28, 2009.  Today, Honduras is under the control of an illegitimate government backed by the military and police - repression is systemic and widespread.

· De-forestation, through the clear-cutting of the land, before the use of explosives to blow up and remove, level by level, entire hills and mountain tops.

· Air contamination due to the de-forestation and to dust created by the use of explosives and heavy machinery to break up the mountain and rock.

· Contamination of surface and underground water sources due to de-forestation and to the use of explosives and heavy machinery to destroy and remove entire hills and mountain tops.

· Contamination of surface and underground water sources due to the use of huge amounts of cyanide (in the process to separate the gold from earth, rock and other metals) and the release of naturally occurring heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead) in dangerous amounts due to the explosives and destruction of mountains.

· Contamination of water sources, through release and leak of waste products from the processing plant and tailings pond.

· Depletion of surface and underground water sources due to use of huge quantities of water in the gold and silver processing plant.  This water depletion and contamination occurs in regions of the two countries where the "subsistence economy" campesinos and indigenous communities barely survive the "dry" season, most years.

· Cracking of peoples' homes, due to use of explosives.

· Health harms to local populations (babies to the elderly), including: hair loss, skin rashes and diseases, blood contamination due to breathing in or consumption of dangerous levels of heavy metals, other more serious health problems (organ failure and complications) due to blood contaminants; eye irritations; respiratory complications.

· Repression against villagers (including deaths and shootings) who carry out community education and organization work to protest the harms and violations occurring in their communities.

· "Criminalization of work in defense of human rights and the environment" and the laying of criminal charges against and jailing of local community members who protest the harms and violations.

IMPUNITY - LACK OF REMEDY & RECOURSE 
The people suffering these harms and violations have no legal remedy or recourse in any legal system, not only inside Guatemala and Honduras, but also at the international level, and in Canada.

IACHR ORDER 
Having said that, in May 2010 the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) - based on its investigations of these harms and violations - ordered the government of Guatemala to suspend Goldcorp's mine in Guatemala as a precautionary measure.

Neither the government of Guatemala nor Goldcorp have abided by this order.  The government of Canada (also a member of the Organization of American States) has said nothing about this suspension order.

DOCUMENTATION 
In April 2010, the Canadian television station CTV aired a W5 documentary "Lost Paradise", looking at Goldcorp's mining operation in Guatemala, and HudBay Mineral's nickel mining operation in Guatemala.  It is recommended viewing: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w5/paradise-lost/#clip290436.

In 2010, a documentary film about Goldcorp's mine in Guatemala was released: "The Business Of Gold In Guatemala".  It is recommended viewing and available on request.

In 2009, a documentary film was released about Goldcorp's mine in Honduras: "All That Glitters Is Not Gold".  It is recommended viewing and available on request.

At www.rightsaction.org you will find articles, urgent actions and reports about Goldcorp's mines in Guatemala and Honduras, going back over 8 years.

GOLDWASHING - ROB FROM THE POOR TO GIVE TO THE RICH 
Goldcorp denies all of the above.  Either they deny that any of these harms and violations have actually occurred, or they deny any link to them.

This is why we ask you - the DJSI (North America) - how did you arrive at your conclusions about Goldcorp's mining operations and upon what criteria of "sustainability" did you base your decisions?

We believe that by naming Goldcorp to your "sustainability" index, you give the very notion of "sustainability" a bad name and you contribute to the impunity with which Goldcorp operates its mine, turning a blind eye to well and widely documented allegations of serious harms and violations.

In this way, the DJSI North America is helping gold-wash a legacy of environmental and health harms and other human rights violations (including deaths) at Goldcorp operated mine sites in Guatemala and Honduras, and across the Americas.

We respectfully ask:

• What criteria do you use to determine what constitutes valid and merit-worthy "sustainability"?
• What and who were your sources of information with respect to concluding that Goldcorp Inc. is operating its mines in a merit-worthy "sustainable" manner?
• Will you agree to send an investigatory mission to Guatemala and Honduras, to carry out a full and proper investigation into the harms and violations summarized below, half of the time of which would be set up and attended to by Rights Action and other groups that we work with in these countries?

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Grahame Russell, co-director
Grahame: 1-860-352-2448, info@rightsaction.org
www.rightsaction.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Jennifer Moore, MiningWatch Canada, 613-569-3439
Amanda Kistler, Center for International Environmental Law, 339-225-1623

Sep 21, 2011

Goldcorp Removed from Dow Jones Sustainability Index

(Ottawa) Effective September 19th, Goldcorp has been removed from the Dow Jones North America Sustainability Index. The announcement comes in the context of ongoing allegations of human rights violations and evidence of environmental contamination in  communities affected by Goldcorp's mining activities.

"Goldcorp's removal from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index will not make a difference in the daily lives of communities in Guatemala, Honduras and elsewhere who are living with long-term impacts from this company's operations," says Jennifer Moore, Latin America Program Coordinator for MiningWatch Canada, "but this is another indication that the company can't just paper over the damage that it's doing."

Last year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Guatemalan government to suspend Goldcorp's Marlin mine due to serious concerns for the security and health of eighteen local indigenous communities. Despite Guatemala's failure to suspend the mine, the order remains in place. International scientific studies indicate that surface water depletion in the area of the mine may be drawing arsenic-rich groundwater to the surface, and preliminary research shows that people living closest to the mine have elevated levels of lead in their blood and arsenic in their urine.

"Goldcorp's deletion from this index less than nine months after it was added should tell Wall Street something the communities have known for years - Goldcorp's operations in Guatemala and Honduras are not sustainable for communities, the environment, nor ultimately for responsible investors," says Amanda Kistler, mining campaigner for the Center for International Environmental Law.

A recent study of reclamation issues for Goldcorp's Marlin mine in Guatemala found that the existing surety bond of $1 million USD would not even cover the cost to remove Goldcorp's equipment and infrastructure at the mine. It further warned that Goldcorp's non-public reclamation plan casts serious doubt on the intentions of the company to undertake this work. The study calculated that an estimated $49 million USD would be a more appropriate surety bond to ensure the mine site is properly cleaned up and maintained once the company leaves.

"Goldcorp 'invests' millions in advertising, painting itself as a marvelous, responsible, and ethical company," says Magalí Rey Rosa, director of 'Savia', the School of Ecologist Thought in Guatemala. "But the Guatemalans who live in the area near the mine have learned the hard way that company propaganda doesn't equate with reality, and now, thanks to the Marlin mine, they live in fear, with less water and more health problems. There were warnings about such 'collateral effects' since the mine went into production, but neither here, nor in other places, was credence given to those who were opposed to living alongside the mega open-pit mine. When damages are proven, it is usually too late."

In Honduras, communities in the vicinity of Goldcorp's San Martín mine are equally worried that the money may have already run out for closure and remediation efforts, leaving them concerned about their health and livelihoods into the future.

Sustainability Investing reported the results of its annual review of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices on September 8th. The changes were made effective when markets opened on September 19th.

A copy of the report on reclamation costs conducted by COPAE and UUSC on Goldcorp's closure plan can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/3wrhhvs.

A copy of the report by Sustainability Investing can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/3vaofgo.

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Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) is committed to strengthening and using international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. CIEL is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy in the global public interest, including through legal counsel, policy research, analysis, education, training and capacity building.

MiningWatch Canada (MWC) is a pan-Canadian initiative supported by environmental, social justice, Aboriginal and labour organizations from across the country. It addresses the urgent need for a coordinated public interest response to the threats to public health, water and air quality, fish and wildlife habitat and community interests posed by irresponsible mineral policies and practices in Canada and around the world.

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