KAIROS partners in the Philippines seek a meeting with Prime Minister Harper
KAIROS civil society partners in the Philippines are seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss allegations of irresponsible activities of certain Canadian mining companies.
The Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines (EcuVoice), Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, and the Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) are taking the lead in seeking a dialogue with Canada’s Prime Minister during his reported two-day visit to the Philippines on November 10-11, 2012. The key focus of the dialogue will be their call to hold Canadian mining companies accountable for their activities, both past and present, and demand compensation for what they assert are numerous environmental and social harms to the Filipino people. Companies named by the group include Marcopper (now part of Barrick Gold), TVI Pacific and its Philippine subsidiary TVI Resource Development, Mindoro Resources Ltd and its Philippine subsidiary MRL Gold, and Crazy Horse Resources.
Last month, in testimony before Canada’s Parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights, Mr. Neri Colmenares, a member of the Philippine Congress and president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, cited several incidents of human rights violations and cases of extra-judicial killings of activists and Indigenous leaders opposed to large-scale mining operations.
The groups seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Harper in the Philippines are hoping to discuss these concerns among others.
For more information on KAIROS’ work with partners in the Philippines, please contact Connie Sorio, Asia Partnerships Coordinator, csorio@kairoscanada.org
