Defense of life and territory Archives - Page 6 of 11 - NISGUA

British Columbia Securities Commission Asked to Investigate Mining Company’s Failure to Disclose Material Facts to Investors

Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) – Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) – Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) – MiningWatch Canada – Diocesan Committee in Defense of Nature (CODIDENA) (Guatemala City/Oakland/Toronto/Ottawa/Tatamagouche) – While a civil lawsuit moves forward in British Columbia courts against Tahoe Resources [...]

nisgua_admin2020-01-01T21:25:59+00:00May 31st, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Join us on tour this Fall with JODVID!

This fall, we’re excited to welcome Alex Escobar Prado as the featured speaker for this year's tour, "Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life!" Alex is an activist, educator, and a member of the Guatemalan environmental justice organization Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID). Born out of the [...]

nisgua_admin2017-12-08T21:33:23+00:00May 31st, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal, Tour|

Solidarity Update: May 2017

News recap: Motions filed against former Constitutional Court judges for breach of duty in overturning the genocide verdict; Ríos Montt to stand trial for genocide for his role in the Dos Erres massacre; Accompanier perspective: "As You Come Home: Immigration, Reunion, and the Continuity of Power"; Thousands respond to action [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:47+00:00May 25th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Movements resisting resource extraction are being met with targeted violence

Over the last several decades, transnational resource extraction companies have flocked to Central America. Licenses to construct hydroelectric dams, exploit minerals, or build the necessary infrastructure to make these types of projects possible are being granted by national governments in the region at an alarming rate. With little transparency, [...]

nisgua_admin2020-01-01T21:26:06+00:00May 24th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal, Huehuetenango, La Puya, Xalalá Dam|

More than 2900 concerned individuals from 59 countries ask Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate murder of environmental defender

Press release May 17, 2017 (Guatemala/Oakland, CA/Tatamagouche, NS) -- On Wednesday, a letter was delivered to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Guatemala on behalf of more than 2,900 people requesting an immediate and thorough investigation into the murder of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and the attacks against her father, Alex [...]

nisgua_admin2020-01-01T21:26:15+00:00May 17th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Yes to life! Communities in the Ixcán commemorate 10 years since the referendum that said ‘no’ to resource extraction

Ten years ago, community members from the Ixcán exercised their ancestral traditions and rights as indigenous peoples, holding a municipality-wide community referendum in which 89.7% of the 21,555 participants in the referendum voted against allowing resource extraction companies into their territories. On April 20, 2017, Ixcán communities celebrated 10 [...]

nisgua_admin2018-07-02T16:58:16+00:00May 5th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Solidarity Update: April 2017

Photo credit: Roderico Díaz. News recap: Honoring the life of Miguel Ramírez Matóm, witness in the Ixil genocide trial; Take action: Denounce impunity for attacks against environmental defenders; Communities in the Ixcán commemorate 10 years since the referendum that said ‘no’ to resource extraction; Announcing our fall tour: "Guatemala youth in defense of [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:47+00:00April 30th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

One Year Later: Berta Lives, COPINH Continues On

On March 2, 2016, Berta Cáceres was assassinated in an attempt to silence her voice, bring an end her important leadership and destroy the political project and struggle of a people acting in defence of their territory. The aim was not only to do away with her, but the organization [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:19:44+00:00March 31st, 2017|Defense of life and territory|

Solidarity Update: March 2017

News recap: The women of Sepur Zarco celebrate one year since the verdict and continue to call for dignified reparations; La Puya celebrates five years of resistance; UC Berkeley students take action in solidarity with victims of the fire at a state-run home for youth. This and more in this month's [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:48+00:00March 31st, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Protect Sacred Sites – Support NISGUA local action!

NISGUA is committed to taking leadership from and acting in solidarity with indigenous peoples in Guatemala and globally. With our U.S. office based in Oakland, CA, we are also committed to taking local action alongside the Chochenyo Ohlone peoples upon whose lands we are guests. A 5,000-year-old Ohlone Shellmound [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:48:39+00:00February 16th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Grassroots gatherings, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Solidarity Update: February 2017

Photo: Holly Sheenan. News recap: Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Sepur Zarco verdict; Civil suit continues against the Ministry of Energy and Mines, in an attempt to cancel Las Lajitas license; Hundreds respond to calls for urgent action on the murder of environmental defender Sebastián Alonso Juan; Protect sacred sites: Respond [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:48+00:00February 15th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

More attempts made to suspend Las Lajitas license

On January 24, residents from the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael las Flores filled the courtroom to hear arguments in a civil suit against the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) that seeks the cancellation of a mining concession in their communities. Casillas resident Bernabé Rivas appealed to [...]

nisgua_admin2017-12-11T10:53:06+00:00February 10th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

International organizations celebrate precedent-setting step toward justice in civil suit against Tahoe Resources in Canada for violence in Guatemala

January 27, 2017 (Guatemala/ Montreal/Ottawa/Reno/Tatamagouche/Toronto/Washington, DC) Canadian and US civil society organizations wholeheartedly welcome a British Columbia Court of Appeals’ decision that Vancouver is the preferred forum for a civil suit to be heard against Tahoe Resources concerning violence against peaceful opposition to its silver mine in Guatemala. Announced [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:39:09+00:00January 27th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Solidarity Update: January 2017

Photo: Francisco Simon, Prensa Comunitaria News recap: Former Kaibil, accused of participating in Dos Erres massacre, arrested in Maryland; Elderly protester killed in the Ixquisis region, Huehuetenango; Former Guatemalan Minister of Energy and Mines arrested in Miami, awaits extradition; As Trump takes office, we stand in our commitment to internationalism. This [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:49+00:00January 23rd, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Repression of communities defending their rights in the Ixquisis Region, San Mateo Ixtatán, Huehuetenango

On January 17, 2017, community members from the Ixquisis region, located in northern Huehuetenango, held a demonstration against the construction of three hydroelectric projects by the company Promoción y Desarrollos Hídricos, Sociedad Anónima (PDH, SA). That afternoon, representatives of the National Civil Police, PDH S.A.'s private security, and forest rangers, all armed, [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:18:13+00:00January 17th, 2017|Defense of life and territory, Huehuetenango|

CALAS seeks increased security measures after staff member is murdered

Today NISGUA, along with other environmental and social justice organizations from the Unites States and Canada, sent a letter to Guatemalan Attorney General and the Minister of the Interior asking that necessary actions be taken to guarantee the safety of the staff for the Guatemalan Center for Legal, Environmental and Social [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:44:13+00:00December 20th, 2016|Defense of life and territory|

Twelve communities of Tzalbal continue in their legal struggle for their lands

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords in Guatemala, which brought an official end to the 36-year internal armed conflict. The Accords not only promised a more equitable distribution of land, increased attention on social needs, and an end to the violence that [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-25T01:15:01+00:00December 9th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability|

Solidarity Update: December 2016

Photo: CPR Urbana News recap: Lucas García to be tried for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Molina Theissen; Staff member from the environmental justice law firm CALAS is murdered; The municipality of Mataquescuintla re-affirms 2012 referendum results that voted ‘NO’ to mining; “Guatemalan women healing towards justice” tour build U.S.-Guatemala connections in [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:49+00:00December 6th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Mataquescuintla reaffirms its commitment to uphold the results of the 2012 consultation that rejected mining

Four years ago, residents of the southeastern Guatemalan municipality of Mataquescuintla held a municipal referendum in which 98.42% of participants voted against the presence of resource extraction projects in their territories. This past Friday, the municipality re-affirmed its commitment to uphold that decision and continue to stand up against [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:14:10+00:00November 16th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Murder of Young Assistant from Guatemalan Environmental Organization is Evidence of Escalating Risk to Human Rights Defenders

November 16, 2016 (Ottawa/Toronto/Vancouver/Reno/Washington/Guatemala) North American organizations are dismayed and deeply troubled by the execution-style murder of 22 year-old Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima, assistant to the director of the Guatemalan Centre for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), on Saturday in Guatemala City. A group of Canadian and US [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:39:20+00:00November 16th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

CALAS denounces the murder of colleague Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima

The Center for Environmental and Social Legal Action of Guatemala (CALAS) denounces the murder of Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima, assistant to the General Director Yuri Melini. Below is the translated urgent action and original statement in Spanish. CALAS - Urgent Action Public Statement MURDER of JEREMY ABRAHAM BARRIOS LIMA [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:58:09+00:00November 14th, 2016|Defense of life and territory|

Community members protest damage to homes near Tahoe Resources’ mine, fear violent reprisal

The following article was written in collaboration with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network, MiningWatch Canada, and the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. In February 2016 houses in the village of La Cuchilla in the municipality of San Rafael Las [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:45:47+00:00November 8th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Guatemalans appeal case against Tahoe Resources in Canadian court

PRESS RELEASE Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) - Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) Today, the British Columbia Court of Appeals in Vancouver, Canada will revisit a procedural motion in the case of seven [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:39:30+00:00November 1st, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Committee for Reparations for La Cuchilla denounce cracks in houses from explosions at the Escobal mine

Community members from La Cuchilla in the municipality of San Rafael las Flores are concerned about major cracks in the foundation of their houses that have developed since Tahoe Resources' began mining operations at the neighboring Escobal mine. They claim that the cracks are due to explosions and an increase [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:46:05+00:00October 21st, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Solidarity Update: October 2016

News recap: “Guatemalan women healing towards justice” tour kicks off this weekend at the border; Alliance for Prosperity means more of the same U.S. foreign policy towards Central America; Xamán massacre will be prosecuted in Inter-American Court; The home of human rights defender Angelica Choc attacked amidst advances in criminal trial. This [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:50+00:00October 7th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Indigenous Xinca and campesino communities stand in resistance to extractive biomass project

More than 30 Xinca and campesino communities from the municipalities of Quesada and Jutiapa in southeastern Guatemala are resisting a biomass energy plant that will burn eucalyptus trees for electricity. Representatives from the communities have formed a resistance camp, maintaining a constant present at two different entrances to the project site [...]

nisgua_admin2017-12-11T11:33:48+00:00September 27th, 2016|Defense of life and territory|

Hundreds sign on to Solidarity Statement with Women Defenders and All Defending Water, Land, Life and Territory

International Solidarity with Women Defenders and All Defending Water, Land, Life and Territory September 29, 2016 We, the undersigned, express our solidarity with Angelica Choc and family after gunshots were fired against her home on Friday, September 16, 2016. The attack occurred just after midnight. Four bullets impacted the walls [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:44:23+00:00September 26th, 2016|Defense of life and territory|

Saying “NO” to proposed parking lot on Mission Peak Ohlone cultural site

NISGUA's Oakland office and staff are guests on Ohlone land in California. On September 20, we responded to call to stand with the local Ohlone community in saying no to a proposed parking lot on Mission Peak. NISGUA spoke out at the public hearing and filed a letter (below), urging the [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:13:58+00:00September 20th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Solidarity Update: August 2016

News recap: National and international human rights defenders threatened as transitional justice advances; Communities celebrate the release of political prisoners from Huehuetenango; SEC complaint says Tahoe Resources failed to disclose widespread opposition to Escobal silver mine. This and more in this month's Solidarity Update.

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:50+00:00August 26th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Public declaration of the Maya Q’eqchi’ of Los Copones, Ixcán, Quiché

The following is a translated statement made by the Maya Q'eqchi' authorities from Los Copones, Ixcán on August 13, 2016, to mark the third anniversary of the State recognition of their rights as indigenous peoples. NISGUA, through ACOGUATE, has accompanied many community members from Los Copones since 2006, as they [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:58:25+00:00August 26th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Xalalá Dam|

Caravan traveling to Huehuetenango celebrates the freedom of ancestral and community authorities

On July 30, 2016, seven ancestral and community authorities from northern Huehuetenango began their journey back home after being held as political prisoners. All of the men were held for over a year – one for over three – on charges related to community protests opposing hydroelectric dams imposed [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:15:09+00:00August 26th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Huehuetenango|

Fernando Solis from El Observador on the Alliance for Prosperity

While the United States pushes forward with the Alliance for Prosperity – allocating $750 million this fiscal year alone to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – NISGUA talked with Fernando Solis, editor and political writer at El Observador, to get his insights into the plan, its goals, and who [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-25T01:16:47+00:00August 23rd, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability|

ADH Statement on the International Day of Indigenous Peoples

The following is a statement made by the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) on the International Day of Indigenous Peoples. For the original statement by the ADH, click here. Translation by NISGUA. The Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) August 12, 2016 To mark the [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:15:26+00:00August 12th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Huehuetenango|

US Securities and Exchange Commission asked to investigate mining company’s failure to disclose secret lawsuits

News Release August 11, 2016 (GUATEMALA CITY/OAKLAND/TORONTO) - The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is being asked to investigate a Canadian mining company with offices in Reno, Nevada and operations in Guatemala. The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), based in Canada, will submit a thirty-five-page report on [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:40:09+00:00August 11th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Organizations call for full investigation into murder of Daniel Choc Pop (CCDA)

Jimmy Morales Cabrera, President of the Republic of Guatemala, Thelma Aldana, Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office Carlos Moran, Secretary for Agrarian Affairs - SAA Mario Estuardo Mendez Cobar, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food - MAGA Francisco Rivas Lara, Minister of the Interior General Manager, [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:44:33+00:00July 7th, 2016|Defense of life and territory|

Trial opens against political prisoners from Huehuetenango

Today marks the opening of the trial against seven land defenders from northern Huehuetenango, all of whom have been held in pretrial detention as political prisoners for over a year. All seven are being accused of crimes that allegedly took place during community protests against the imposition of hydroelectric [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T18:15:41+00:00July 6th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Huehuetenango|

Guatemalans Demand Answers from Distastefully-Named Gunpoint Exploration

News Release: Source: Mining Watch Canada - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) (Ottawa/Guatemala City) Today, a letter from Guatemalans living in the vicinity of Gunpoint Exploration’s ‘El Escorpión’ project was sent to the company raising concerns about inadequate disclosure in company filings, particularly considering overwhelming results [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:46:34+00:00July 6th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Escobal|

Solidarity Update: July 2016

News recap: Psychologist Maudi Tzay joins NISGUA this fall on tour in the United States; Eight former military to stand trial for charges in the CREOMPAZ case; Urban activists return to Central Square for the Day for Heroes and Martyrs; Seven political prisoners from Huehuetenango go to trial. This and [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:51+00:00July 5th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|

Ermitaño López: Marking one year in pre-trial detention for protecting land

One year ago today, Ermitaño López – “Don Taño” – was arrested in Guatemala City’s courthouse as he was attending a pre-trial declaration hearing in support of other land defenders from Barillas. Don Taño is a teacher and community organizer from Barillas, northern Huehuetenango, where communities are facing the [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T17:32:57+00:00June 2nd, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Huehuetenango|

Solidarity Update: May 2016

News recap: Final arguments heard to determine whether CREOMPAZ case will be sent to trial; More than 99% of participants vote ‘NO’ to resource extraction in Quesada municipal consultation; Guatemala’s highest court upholds suspension order for El Tambor Mine; Announcing our 2016 Fall tour: “Guatemalan Women Healing Toward Justice.” This [...]

nisgua_admin2019-12-27T19:06:52+00:00May 25th, 2016|Defense of life and territory, Justice and accountability, Solidarity Update, Trans-Territorial Organizing|