Canada’s human rights record is being called into question ahead of a United Nations review of its diplomatic support for mining in Latin America.. Mining protest .The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), a Canada-based legal activist group, on Wednesday submitted a 30-page report to the UN Human Rights Council documenting what it said is “continued diplomatic support of mining companies over the safety of human rights and environment defenders” in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Ecuador. .It comes ahead of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) later this month. The UPR is a formal process where member states are allowed to critique other member countries’ human rights records..The report is endorsed by 27 Canadian civil society organizations and 39 professors, lawyers, and legal scholars, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Grandmothers Advocacy Network..“We have found that Canadian embassies continue to provide significant support for Canadian mining companies despite being aware of serious and credible allegations of human and environmental rights violations,” Charis Kamphuis, a Thompson Rivers law professor and JCAP board member said in a statement. .“The Universal Periodic Review is a crucial opportunity to shine the spotlight on Canada and reveal the massive gulf between Canada's domestic and international human rights commitments, and the actions and omissions of Canadian officials who consistently ignore the concerns of affected communities and the risks to defenders. In some cases, Canadian officials have taken steps to undermine communities' efforts to defend their rights and access justice.”.The submission identifies specific policy failures, including a lack of clarity regarding the concrete obligations of Canadian officials, lack of reporting and transparency on how the guidelines are implemented, and lack of independent oversight to ensure compliance, it said. . United Nations .It cites four specific examples of what it calls diplomatic failures on the part of Canadian officials, including an incident in 2021 in Ecuador where the Canadian ambassador denied appeals for support from the president of the Shuar Arutam People, Josefina Tunki, after Tunki allegedly received death threats from the vice-president of Canadian company Solaris Resources as a result of her people's opposition to the company's copper project in that country..In Mexico, the unconditional support of the Canadian embassy for Calgary-based Blackfire Exploration is alleged to have put the life of environment defender Mariano Abarca at greater risk in the months before his murder in November 2009, leading to extensive media coverage in both countries. The allegations have not been proven despite a multi-year investigation from the RCMP that concluded in 2015..“At the same time that Canadian embassy officials make considerable efforts to promote Canadian mining interests abroad putting defenders at greater risk, the Canadian government has failed to ensure even a modicum of accountability for those responsible for devastating harms," said Viviana Herrera, Latin America program coordinator with Mining Watch Canada.
