XINCA PEOPLE’S PARLIAMENT OF GUATEMALA
Communique from Xinka Authorities Regarding the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources’ Failure to Comply with the Constitutional Court Sentence, case file 4785-2017
March 15, 2019
As leaders and representatives of Xinka Communities, we denounce that since October 2018 we have been petitioning the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on numerous occasions to request that they allow us to fully participate in the definition of the Area of Influence of the Escobal mining project. However, as of now, none of our petitions have been resolved.
Our requests to participate in the definition of the area of influence are based on that which is established in the September 3, 2018 Constitutional Court sentence, file number 4785-2017, which establishes that the consultation should be carried out based on international standards and that these standards require the participation of Indigenous Peoples in all stages of the consultation. Moreover, the Constitutional Court’s sentence establishes that we were not granted any participation in the process of granting the mining licences. Most importantly, it determined that we were not considered in the determination of the environmental impact of the El Escobal and Juan Bosco mining projects. This means that the determination of the area of influence is “Void by Operation of Law”, and as a result, we do not now accept the definition of the area of influence, making it “Void by Operation of Law”.
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