The Price of Gold

The Price of Gold

Report to the UN ECOSOC by the Center for Economic and Social Rights, New York April 2001

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Center for Economic and Social Rights conducted a fact-finding mission (CESR FFM) to Honduras in March/April 2001. The purpose of the mission was to investigate the current operation of the gold mining industry in Honduras since the passage of the General Mining Law in November 1998. This law was passed in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, and in a climate of substantial international economic pressure for Honduras to provide favorable conditions to foreign investment. It is estimated that one-third of Honduran land has been marked for mining activities in the last 5 years. CESR investigated the current status of economic, social and cultural rights of the Honduran people as affected by the passage of the law. The CESR FFM learned that the General Mining Law and operation of the mining industry violated Honduras’ obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The specific rights under which there were violations included Article One, the right to selfdetermination, Article Seven, the right to favorable work conditions, Article Eleven the right to an adequate standard of living and Article Twelve, the right to health and a healthy environment. VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS Article One: the right to self-determination The establishment of gold mines at San Andrés and San Martín required the relocation of communities of people. The people living in San Andrés reported feeling pressure from the Government and the mining company to relocate. They were not provided with legal representation or assistance in negotiations with the mining company. The community at San Andrés was relocated to a newly constructed community with houses that did not have any plots of land around them in which to grow crops or raise animals. This is contrary to the people’s traditional lifestyle. The community was not consulted about the style of house or design of the community. Article Seven: the right to favorable work conditions Workers live in a compound within close proximity to a cyanide heap-leaching pad at San Martín mine in San Francisco Morazán. Those living in the compound have limited access to the community. Workers at the San Andrés mine in Copán were initially denied their worker benefits when the first company operating the mine went bankrupt. They were only paid their entitlements after substantial negotiation and pressure was brought on the incoming mining company. Article Eleven: the right to an adequate standard of living Community members in the San Ignacio community, close to the San Martín mine, reported that while the number of shops has increased since the opening of the mine, so has the number of alcohol outlets. In addition the numbers of people coming into the town has increased with no migration control over numbers. These increased numbers have meant that the cost of housing has increased which has forced poorer community members out of housing. The cost of building materials is more expensive and obtaining manual labor for traditional agricultural work has become more difficult. New houses constructed for the community that was relocated in San Andrés, were built in lines, rather than in a traditional style around a central square. Additionally they were not given plots

of land for growing crops or raising animals around the houses. House owners are still waiting to be given legal title to their new houses. Article Twelve: the right to health and a healthy environment Studies showing water pollution The CESR FFM was informed of preliminary studies, carried out under the auspices of the World Health Organization by a Municipal Water Authority, that revealed the presence of higher than normal levels of mercury, lead, iron and arsenic in rivers in the Northern and Western parts of the country. Communities drink water from and bathe in these rivers. While the studies are preliminary, the existence of a large number of mines, which release contaminated waters in these areas, suggests that the mines are polluting the river system. Another study conducted by the Center for the Research and Control of Pollution reveals the presence of heavy metals in water and fish as a result of the release of contaminated waters by the El Mochito mine. Furthermore, a study by the Center revealed problems with discharge waters from the San Andrés mine. The discharge waters were found to contain cyanide levels that contaminated the river system on 6-7 occasions in less than three years, which is not permitted under the Environmental Impact Study (EIS). The river system provides drinking and bathing water for communities lower down on the river from the mine. Direct effects of mining on the health of the community members Houses close to the San Andrés mine in the San Miguel community are located within 42 meters of the cyanide heap-leaching pad. The fence surrounding the pad is not high enough and one animal wandered into the area and died after drinking from the cyanide pool. Additionally, community members complain of increased respiratory and skin diseases due to the high concentration of dust. Houses of the Azacualpa community located close to the San Andrés mine shake every time there is an explosion to expose more ore. The location of the community is unstable and houses have cracks in them from the explosions. Community members must also walk through the mine along a road used by heavy mining trucks in order to reach their community. There have been many domestic animals killed by the trucks and many near accidents with people. Community members in El Porvenir are concerned about the dropping water levels in the river and the large quantities of sand extracted for use by the San Martín mine. This has affected people’s ability to use the river to support their livelihood, including use of the river as a water resource for their herds of animals. Structure of the mining industry prevents adequate environmental controls While each mining company is required to complete an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) in order to be granted a mining license, the company pays for the EIS and chooses the company who will carry out the study. No mining company has ever been refused a mining license after having completed an EIS. The Government is not responsible for conducting, or paying for the EIS. There is no separate, independent body which is solely responsible for monitoring the environmental effects of mining.

Lack of community participation Community members of El Porvenir, San Ignacio and San Andrés all complained of the lack of consultation and participation in the EIS stage. No community appears to have been adequately consulted before the mining licenses were approved. Staff of DEFOMIN (Department for the Promotion of Mining) clearly stated that they thought it inappropriate to consult the community about mining decisions due to their lack of education. The process for informing communities of applications for mining licenses appears inadequate as the applications were advertised in a newspaper that does not arrive at the community in San Andrés, and the Law allows only 15 days in which to object to the mine. Community members also were concerned about the lack of availability of the EIS for public reading. Lack of ability to fully investigate all complaints The office that receives complaints about the environment, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of the Environment, only has power to investigate complaints which are of a criminal nature, not those of an administrative nature. They do not have the power to investigate the granting of a mining license. In addition, when offences are of a serious nature the Office has to refer them to the judicial process. Judges frequently are partial, have very little knowledge of the General Mining Law, and are reluctant to assign fault to the foreign mining companies. Members of this Office criticized the lack of sufficient environmental protections within the law and the lack of limits on the use of water by a mining company. The Government has clearly breached its obligations under Article 12, committed acts of violation and failed in its duty to protect and fulfill the right to health. RECOMMENDATIONS CESR recommends the General Mining Law should be amended to make clear that communities cannot be forcibly removed. We recommend that an independent legal office should be established to provide legal assistance to communities who are petitioned to relocate. The Law should be amended to require mining companies to negotiate with legally represented communities about their relocation. The Law should also be amended to ensure that communities participate in the design of any new community to which they will be relocated. The Government should ensure that communities who have been relocated are provided with legal title to their houses within six months of relocation, otherwise the mining companies’ concessions will be cancelled. The General Mining Law should be amended to reflect this. CESR recommends that the General Mining Law should be amended to require any mining company operating in Honduras to contribute to a workers’ benefits fund to ensure that workers benefits are paid even in the event of bankruptcy. We also recommend that the Department of Labor monitor the living conditions of workers at the San Martín mining facility and ensure that their proximity to cyanide leach pads is within defined international standards.

CESR recommends that municipal authorities should require all those residing in mining areas to register with the municipal authority in order to control the numbers of incoming people. Municipal authorities should also regulate the number of alcohol outlets which are permitted to open in towns close to mines. The Government should provide additional funding to build low cost housing for those who cannot afford housing due to increased housing costs in towns close to mines. CESR recommends that the General Mining Law needs to be amended in order to reform the current environmental monitoring and mining licensing schemes. DEFOMIN currently plays the dual role of promoting mining and monitoring environmental protection. The Department for Evaluation and Environmental Control (DECA) reviews EIS, controls the license granting, and also monitors the environmental effects of mining. DEFOMIN should be clearly involved only in the promotion of mining and the granting of licenses. DECA, or another body, should have a strong environmental protection role. The General Mining Law should be amended to require the Government to conduct the EIS, not the mining company. Mining companies, however, should be required to contribute to a fund that is dedicated to paying for EIS. CESR recommends that applications for mining licenses should be displayed in local municipalities, on church walls and on public notice boards (not just in the newspaper), and the length of time for comment should be extended to 3 months. Communities should be provided with legal representation in order to be able to argue against the granting of a mining license. EIS should be available in public locations locally. EIS should also be conducted every two years when a mine is in operation. Communities should be included in the environmental monitoring processes. Staff of the environmental monitoring body should be trained in the international legal requirement that communities participate in the EIS and environmental monitoring processes. CESR recommends that the Government, through the Department of Health and/or the National Independent Water Authority, immediately conduct a thorough evaluation of the water quality throughout Honduras, concentrating on the areas where mines are located. The evaluation should test for the presence of heavy metals including lead, mercury, arsenic and cyanide and thiocyanates in both superficial and subterranean waters. The Center for the Research and Control of Pollution should continue to operate as an independent center, conducting its own monitoring of environmental standards. In addition, the General Mining Law should also be reformed to limit the amount of water that a mining company can use. The Government should investigate and identify alternatives to releasing cyanide-contaminated water into the river system. The body responsible for environmental protection should monitor the release of contaminated waters into the river systems. The Government should also broaden the mandate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to include the capacity to investigate complaints about the mining licensing process. Judges should be trained in mining law. CESR encourages reforms of the legal system which will de-politicize and give greater independence to the judiciary. CONCLUSION CESR, after reviewing the gold mining industry in Honduras, finds that the Government of Honduras has breached its obligations under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These breaches have arisen since the passage of the General Mining Law and include breaches of the right to health and a healthy environment, the right of people to an adequate standard of living, the right to self-determination, and the right to just and favorable conditions of work. CESR does not support the gold mining policies of the Government of Honduras which violate its international commitments to economic, social and cultural rights. CESR concludes that the recommendations included in this report are practical, concrete steps. At this review of Honduras by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, CESR urges the Government to take action to remedy the current situation in the gold-mining industry.

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