Business Responsibility to Respect Indigenous Rights
While numerous United Nations mechanisms1 have addressed the impact of business activities on Indigenous rights, it was only in 2011—with the UN Human Rights Council’s unanimous endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights—that the role of businesses in respecting, or abusing, these rights was officially acknowledged. The Guiding Principles’ “do-no-harm” approach … Read more
The Rise of Popular Consultations
On a hot Sunday morning in July 2013, the inhabitants of Piedras, a small municipality in the Colombian Andes, gathered to decide whether large-scale mining activities should be permitted in their territory. Piedras, traditionally a rice farming community, could soon be a neighbor to one of the biggest open-pit mining projects in the world. The … Read more
Two Views of Consulta Previa in Guatemala: A View from Indigenous Peoples
Read a view from the private sector here. Guatemala is a plurinational country that 22 Maya nations, Xinka, Garifuna, and Ladino people jointly call home. The efforts to gain access to natural resources—often without the consent of the communities affected—constitute another stage in the long history of dispossession and repression of Maya peoples since colonization. … Read more
Reducing the Financial Risk of Social Conflict
Read a sidebar on foiled energy projects. The Peruvian economy has experienced exceptional growth in the past 10 years, with its GDP expanding at an average yearly rate of 6.5 percent. Much of this growth is due to the mining sector, which in 2012 accounted for 9.6 percent of Peru’s GDP, 1.3 percent of its … Read more
Getting to the Table
Mining is a lot more than complex technology, logistics and finance. While mineral extraction does require an amazing array of machinery, computers, and processes for transporting and treating the materials, it is just as much a social project that is negotiated and conducted within a social context. And just as the technological challenges require qualified … Read more
Security or Counterinsurgency in Rio favelas?
In anticipation of the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian government enacted a policy to have special units of police occupy favelas in Rio de Janeiro. As of last week, one of Rio’s most dangerous shanty towns, Complexo da Maré, was taken over by close to 3,000 Brazilian troops. The shift—from using the elite Unidade de … Read more
AQ Slideshow: Venezuela’s Colectivos
Caracas has been the scenario of violent clashes between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government forces and opposition groups, led mainly by opposition politician Leopoldo López, since February 12. So far, the conflict has left at least 41 people dead, and armed chavista groups—nicknamed “colectivos”—have been blamed for many of the casualties. However, members of the … Read more
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Consulta Previa and Investment
Articles: Country Study: Peru by Cynthia Sanborn and Álvaro Paredes Full text available. Country Study: Chile by Jerónimo Carcelén Pacheco and Valentina Mir Bennett Full text available. Country study: Guatemala by Silvel Elías and Geisselle Sánchez Full text available. Country Study: Colombia by Diana María Ocampo and Sebastian Agudelo Full text available. Reducing the Financial … Read more
Ask the Experts: Sustainable Cities
Sergio Fajardo Valderrama answers: Cities must trade in their paternalistic and overprotective orientation for a more independent mentality. Government helps, but citizens do not depend on it completely. We must invest in education so that citizens can be the agents of their own progress.In parallel to this, we must set in motion comprehensive social programs … Read more
Brazil Endorses International Decade for People of African Descent
On Monday, December 23, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the International Decade for People of African Descent, which will run from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2024. The aim will be to raise social consciousness in the fight against prejudice, intolerance, xenophobia, and racism. The resolution follows a series … Read more
DR, Haiti to Discuss Citizenship Ruling
Government officials from the Dominican Republic and Haiti will meet next month to discuss a controversial court decision that would take citizenship away from thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent, Haiti’s foreign minister Pierre Richard Casimir said on Thursday. A commission made up of five officials from both countries will meet in Ouanaminthe, a town … Read more
How Mandela Made a Difference
The tributes to Nelson Mandela will continue to pour in over the next few days, as dignitaries make their way to pay their final respects to the leader who did more to transform Africa than any other in recent memory. His life story is now becoming more familiar by the day, and the upcoming film … Read more
UN Asks Dominican Republic to Restore Nationality
The United Nations is urging the Dominican Republic to restore nationality to individuals affected by a September 23 Constitutional Court ruling that stripped thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their citizenship, rendering them stateless. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said Thursday that international legal standards require that the government restore citizenship taken away … Read more
An Historic Moment for LGBTI Rights in the Americas
In a groundbreaking announcement this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) declared that it will create a Rapporteurship on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons. The news garnered little media attention, but its significance to millions of LGBTI people across the Americas and to the broader struggle for … Read more
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