Concerns about human rights and the environment are constantly swirling around the community and mine.

• As the mine was being established in 2005, the community of Sipakapa organized a referendum: The majority voted against allowing mining in their community. Neither the government nor the mine company Goldcorp respected the results. (In 2007 Guatemala's Constitutional Court ruled the referendum was non-binding.)
• By 2008, four different pension funds in Canada and Sweden requested a "human rights impact assessment." This independent report found that the company had not carried out adequate consultation with communities prior to establishing the mine, a violation of the International Labor Organization's Convention 169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and the right to "free, prior, and informed consent."
• E-Tech International carried out a water study in 2010 that recommended more aggressive management and monitoring of water sources, as well as for a bond to cover cleanup costs after the mine is closed.
• A 2010 environmental health study by experts from the University of Michigan, University of Illinois, and Physicians for Human Rights found heavy metals in rivers downstream from the tailings dam, and called for ongoing monitoring.
• In 2010 the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights issued a set of "precautionary measures" that ask the government suspend mining at Marlin while the government carries out investigations into the pollution and human rights violations.
• The United Nations recently confirmed that the mine did not adequately discuss its plans with local people when it was established: "…the Marlin project was not subject to consultation with indigenous communities," says James Anaya, a special rapporteur appointed by the UN to look at the human rights situation of indigenous people in the country. His report was issued in June of 2011.
• A new cost-benefit analysis by the Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute finds that the government of Guatemala is getting a relatively small share of profit from the mine: 42 percent of total mine revenues, which is "substantially below best practice in global mining operations." The bulk of revenues and earnings "flow overseas to the company and its shareholders." Local communities, the report says, "bear 100 percent of environmental risk." The conclusion: "...the economic benefits of the mine to Guatemala and especially to local communities... are meager and short-lived."
• Fifteen members of the US Congress sent a letter to the President Colom of Guatemala, urging him to immediately suspend operations and address the concerns of the indigenous communities affected by the mine.

The Marlin Mine now produces more than 300,000 ounces of gold a year.

Conflict and Violence

Critics of the mine in Guatemala and international experts are calling on the government and Goldcorp to accept the precautionary measures issued by the IACHR and suspend operations at the mine. It's a risky stance for local people to take: Amnesty International has noted cases of beatings and death threats against members of the San Miguel Defense Front(known by its Spanish initials, FREDEMI). Community members also report shootings and attempted shootings against mine critics. Aniceto López, a coordinator who works for FREDEMI was beaten in February 2011, along with Miguel Ángel Bámaca, a farmer and public health promoter.

The insecurity is "the worst thing affecting our community now," says Bámaca, who was also shot at late at night in July 2010, just outside his home. Like many other FREDEMI members, he is not comfortable publicly identifying his attackers. He says those who wish him ill "know what we do, where we live, when people meet...they know everything," Bámaca says."Who will help us?" The government, the courts, the police, they are not helping."

Adding to concerns about the environment and security, the ethnic Maya Mam people living in the area consider industrial mining as a form of disrespect for their religion and culture, which worships nature and Mother Earth. "Our spirituality, our vision is that there is harmony between nature, people, and God, we are together and there is balance in our lives," says Maudilia López, an indigenous woman who works for the Catholic church in San Miguel Ixtahuacán. "This mining activity puts our cultural values in danger."

Action in defense of indigenous rights

After the IACHR issued its precautionary measures urging the government to suspend operations at the Marlin Mine, the government initially agreed to do so, then later claimed it did not have enough evidence of environmental damage and human rights violations. Oxfam America has been collecting signatures on an electronic petition urging the government to suspend mining at the Marlin Mine and investigate the human rights violations and environmental problems linked to the mine.

As battles continue around the presidential residence in Abidjan, serious violence against civilians is still being reported in the west of the country.

Oxfam staff in the Liberian coastal town of Harper say that more than 4,000 people have arrived there in the past 24 hours alone, fleeing violence around the Ivorian coastal town of Tabou.

“We are hearing that as many as 7,000 more people are on their way here,” said Shemeles Mekonnen, Oxfam’s Public Health Engineer in Maryland, southeast Liberia. “People have been caught up in violent attacks and are running from their homes with nothing.

“Refugees are speaking of fighting, looting, and burning of homes.  This crisis is far from over, and the needs are immense. People are fleeing for their lives and are in dire need of clean water, food, and shelter. Many are saying they are too scared to return home anytime soon. Refugees will need our help for months to come.”

Mekonnen spoke to 56-year-old Catrien Gato, who fled her village Hepo in Ivory Coast, amid conflict. She traveled with her 12 children and grandchildren. 

“Things in the village were really scary,” she told Oxfam. “There was a lot of fighting, looting, and burning.  It seemed everything was being destroyed. The police were nowhere, and there was no law and order. I don’t even want to think about going back. Things are very dangerous there.”

So far, more than 100,000 Ivorian refugees have been registered in Liberia. Most are living in extremely poor conditions in transit centers or local communities.

Oxfam is installing water tanks, latrines, and showers in the Liberian town of Maryland for the refugees crossing the border, in addition to providing clean water and sanitation services to thousands of people further north along the Ivory Coast-Liberia border.

Oxfam has flown in supplies for 70,000 people and is sending a team of aid experts into Ivory Coast in the coming days to evaluate how to respond to the crisis, but the agency warns that any aid operation there will be extremely difficult due to ongoing conflict.

"We are helping people who have walked for long days to reach the border, they are exhausted and in need of immediate assistance. Families in some poor border villages have been supporting refugees for months and have nothing left to give,” said Tariq Riebl, Oxfam's Humanitarian Manager in Liberia.

There are already more than 100,000 refugees who have fled to remote border villages in Liberia where Oxfam has set up water and sanitation facilities. The organization is working in transit sites in Grand Gedeh eastern Liberia and will be distributing essential relief to refugees, as well as helping families hosting refugees to restock dwindling food supplies. 

Oxfam has flown in supplies for 70,000 people and will provide long-term support to local communities, many who have been generously helping refugees since the disputed election last November. 

“This crisis has been kept in the shadows for far too long. Only now is the world recognizing the immense scale of the human suffering with more than one million people forced to flee their homes. Some have managed to make the difficult journey through the forest to some sort of sanctuary across the border in Liberia. We are getting aid to people who have fled but conditions for refugees are very difficult and we need a huge aid push to avoid a public health disaster,” said Riebl.

The full picture of the humanitarian crisis In Ivory Coast is yet to emerge, with close to one million people made homeless by the violence and insecurity hampering the few aid agencies operating in the country. Oxfam is sending in a team of experts this week to evaluate how to respond to the crisis, but the agency warns that any aid operation will be extremely difficult due to ongoing conflict. 

“This aid operation will not be easy. Even when fighting ends, we know there will be months of work ahead to help people start to put their lives back together,” said Riebl. 

More than 100,000 people have already crossed the border from Ivory Coast to Liberia and are living in dire conditions in border villages. Unless more is done to get people to safe and serviced areas further inland, they risk being cut off as the rainy season approaches. 

“People have fled violence and are now living with families in Liberia in remote jungle areas along the border,” said Oxfam spokesperson Caroline Gluck in Liberia. “When the rains come, we will not be able to reach them with aid because the whole area will become inaccessible. The clock is ticking to get people to safe and reachable areas.” 

As the situation in Ivory Coast changes daily, more and more people are crossing the borders of neighboring countries in search of help. Oxfam warns that the potential influx of refugees over the weekend could make the humanitarian situation in Liberia much worse. 

The rainy season, which is starting now, will make roads to remote villages along the border impassable. 

“People are walking four or five days before crossing a river to reach safety,” said Gluck. “Fathers are carrying their young children on their backs through deep forest and surviving on raw vegetables. 

“Some are sleeping 35 people to a room, forced to spend nights sitting up when it rains. There is a severe lack of food, shelter and medical care. 

“Most people have fled their homes after armed men stormed their village. Communities in Liberia are generously supporting thousands of people but they don’t have the supplies to provide help any longer. Much more needs to be done to help people who have fled violence and are now stranded with very little.” 

Oxfam is providing clean water to refugees in Liberia and will help families hosting refugees to restock diminished food supplies. 

Oxfam has rushed aid to Liberia, airlifting 50 tons of relief supplies—such as water tanks, drilling equipment, and sanitation facilities—to assist 70,000 people.

"The border areas are dangerous, and living conditions there are desperately poor," says Chals Wontewe, Oxfam's country directory in Liberia. "There is an urgent need for transportation to help refugees move to camps further inside Liberia, where food and shelter can be safely provided. This needs to happen before the rainy season and further refugee flows make the challenge even harder."

Most refugees are staying with host families near the border, but conditions are dangerously inadequate, with most lacking adequate shelter, clean water, and basic sanitation. Oxfam will provide seeds and agricultural support to host families who by aiding refugees have jeopardized their own food security.

Read more about the crisis.

Donate now to Oxfam's Ivory Coast/Liberia Refugee Crisis Fund.

Oxfam is deploying a team of aid experts and preparing to provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies to refugees in Liberia. Conditions for refugees and host communities in the border areas are very poor, with people receiving inadequate assistance.

“This could become Africa’s latest forgotten crisis. Thousands of civilians are fleeing for their lives yet the international community is failing to respond adequately. The world risks being seriously unprepared for the escalating crisis in West Africa,” said Chals Wontewe, Oxfam’s Country Director in Liberia.

“For more than three months now, the people of Ivory Coast have been living with the threat of violence, intimidation, economic collapse, and sexual assault. The situation is now deteriorating rapidly and urgent action is needed to avert a humanitarian crisis.

“The conditions for refugees and communities hosting them in Liberia are extremely worrying. People are in dire need of the very basics—clean water, food, and shelter,” said Wontewe.

The large influx into Liberia is already putting a severe strain on poor villages, forcing camps and transit centers to be set up, mainly in Nimba county in eastern Liberia and further south along the Ivory Coast-Liberia border.

The crisis in Ivory Coast caused by the contested presidential election in November 2010 has resulted in months of instability and a steep increase in violent clashes in the past week. As well as rising political and military tensions, many banks remain closed, prices of basic goods are rocketing, and more than 500,000 people have lost their jobs.

“The next few weeks will be crucial. Governments, the UN, and aid organizations must respond to the increasing need and ensure relief supplies reach eastern Liberia before the rainy season starts to hamper access,” said Wontewe. “The situation is quickly deteriorating and requires a rapid response.

“This must not be allowed to develop into another forgotten crisis. Growing humanitarian needs will require much more attention than they are getting at the moment, and must be backed up by significant funds and resources.”

"El Salvador is a country with one of the highest rates of femicide (the killing of women) in the world, according to the United Nation’s Population Fund,” said Carolina Castrillo, director of Oxfam America’s Central America, Mexico, and Caribbean regional office. In fact, over the past three years, the number of femicides in El Salvador has increased from 28 to 46 a month.

That is one reason why, on Nov. 25, legislators voted to approve (by a 75-9 margin) the Special Integral Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women. "The penalty for femicide will be between 30 and 50 years of imprisonment," said Mariela Pinto, chair of the Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs in the legislative assembly. The new law also provides penalties—such as fines and jail sentences—for other crimes, such as pornography, psychological abuse, and negative or hateful messages.

Beyond penalization: prevention

An important and innovative aspect of this new law is that it addresses gender-based violence from a prevention perspective and broadens the definition beyond domestic violence. (Gender-based violence also can occur in public spaces, workplaces, etc.) Effective January 1, 2012, the law will be binding in the public sphere, such as ministries and the media. This means government institutions, such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health, as well the Public Attorney’s office and the National Prosecutor’s office will be bound by law to do their part in the prevention of violence against women and children.

"Some institutions already are taking steps in this direction," says Mélida Guevara, program coordinator for Oxfam America’s gender program in the region. "For our Campaign for the Prevention of Gender Violence [an initiative of Oxfam America in collaboration with nine Salvadoran organizations], the Ministry of Education is a very important ally, in incorporating gender-based violence and its prevention within school curricula.”

“We also signed an agreement with the Sub-Ministry of Local Development,” she continues. “This coming year, we will bring theater and performance art, as well as training in basic gender concepts and the prevention of gender-based violence, to communities within which the ministry already works. But it takes much more coordination effort and work to change habits, roles, and beliefs. If we talk about a culture of prevention, we talk about changing the way we have been doing things for decades, even centuries. And that entails a long process, in which we all have to do our share.”

Two points of view included in one law

The new law is a product of two different proposals, one of which the female assembly members authored. These members participated in an intensive certificate course on gender-based violence, another initiative of the Campaign for the Prevention of Gender Violence. The Feminist Alliance, an alliance of several Salvadoran feminist organizations in El Salvador, authored the other proposal. The assemblywomen’s proposal stressed prevention; the proposal from the Feminist Alliance stressed penalization. The proposals complemented each other and came to make one multi-faceted law—a major victory for Salvadorans.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” said Guevara. “The Campaign’s certificate course for the assemblywomen, which resulted in the proposal, dates from 2008. It required constant work with the assemblywomen and their advisors from all the different parties. First, the women themselves had to be sensitized and find each other in a cause that goes beyond ideology. Then, as the course went on, we could see them become more and more committed, and start to advocate for gender equity as part of all the government bodies in which they take part.”

Over, the coming year, Oxfam America and its local partners will be among many civil society organizations working on a widespread education effort to teach Salvadorans, civil society, and government players about the law’s contents and the sort of conditions that need to be created to make effective implementation possible.

One key topic of discussion has been the right of communities to what is termed “free, prior, and informed consent.” Peru’s congress passed a bill in May 2010 requiring consultation with indigenous communities about development priorities. Five indigenous organizations worked in coalition to promote the bill, assisted by a number of allies, including Oxfam. In June, Peru’s executive branch returned the bill to congress with suggested revisions. The coalition cautions the legislature to preserve the original intent of the bill: to reduce conflicts over access to resources and indigenous lands.

Free, prior, and informed consent requires the government to allow indigenous people to participate in decisions about the type of economic development that is carried out on their lands. This right is protected by the International Labour Organisation’s Convention (known as ILO Convention 169) that Peru signed and ratified in 1993. Article 7 of ILO Convention 169 states that people have the right

to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy and otherwise use, and to exercise control…over their own economic, social and cultural development.

Widespread conflict

There is a pressing need to reduce the number of conflicts over access to resources in Peru. The country’s Ombudsman Office issued a report in July 2010 that cited 248 conflicts—125 of which were characterized as “socio-environmental.”

Indigenous groups in Peru are concerned about the future of the consultation bill. "If there is no consultation mechanism,” explains Mario Palacios, representative of CONACAMI, a national organization of communities affected by mining, conflicts will increase.

“Many conflicts originate in indigenous peoples’ territories and the consultation [law] would help to resolve them." He says that if Peru’s congress were to adopt the revisions suggested by the executive branch, the consultation law would be ineffective.

A step backward

Human rights activist and attorney Hernán Coronado points out that this potential impasse is a threat to the dialogue that had developed over the last year between the Peruvian government and indigenous people. For Coronado, the executive branch’s suggested modifications would produce a law that falls short of international standards. In addition, the suggested revision to the bill would diminish the efficiency of the original standard. "It proposes consultation only when communities have legal titles for their lands; this causes problems since there is no such land register in many peasant and indigenous communities," he explains.

The members of the coalition working on the consultation bill are the Interethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Amazon (AIEDESEP), Confederation of Amazonian Nationalities of Peru (CONAP), National Confederation of Communities Affected by Mining (CONACAMI), Peasant Confederation of Peru (CCP), and National Agrarian Confederation (CNA). The coalition awaits further discussion eagerly. Peru’s congress is expected to take up discussion of the consultation bill in the coming weeks.

Keep this guide handy as you read the paper or watch the news. In a glance, it will allow you to become a more active participant in your local, county, state or federal government. Inside, you will find contact information for the elected officials who represent the six counties of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, from the president down to your local city council member. A quick description of the purpose and function of the different branches and levels of government will make it easier to determine the best person to contact when an issue moves you to action. Colorful maps will help you locate your ward or legislative district, and photos of your elected officials will make their faces more familiar.

In practice, however, US-supported SSR efforts often continue to focus primarily on training and equipping military and police forces, especially in connection with counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. This paper looks at the implementation of US-supported SSR programs, and particularly at how they have integrated protection of civilians. The paper identifies current gaps between global standards of good practice—with which US doctrine and principles increasingly conform—on the one hand, and actual US practice in the field on the other. Oxfam believes that protection of civilians must be a cornerstone of US foreign policy, so effective links between SSR and protection must be present in practice as well as in principle. The paper concludes by offering legislative and policy recommendations that can help ensure that US-supported SSR serves as an instrument of protection.

"This study will be an especially useful tool to Louisiana legislators, activists and philanthropists because it provides an evidence-based portrait of living conditions in the state. It looks at our health, our education and our economic status, leading to important conclusions about how we must proceed to create a better Louisiana that is characterized by communities of opportunity," said Flozell Daniels Jr., President and CEO of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. "The report makes it clear that we cannot forge ahead while leaving so many people behind. It is not only unjust; it is also ineffective."

"A Portrait of Louisiana" is the second state-specific report produced by the authors of The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009 since its release last summer. It applies the American Human Development Index—a single measure of well-being for all Americans based on indicators in three key areas: health, education and income—to life in Louisiana. Using U.S. government statistics on longevity, educational attainment and enrollment, and earnings, the American Human Development Report revealed where America is today and set a benchmark against which we will be able to assess where we are tomorrow. In countries around the world where similar studies have been done, Human Development Index findings have proven that strategic investments in health, education and employment boost people's well-being as well as national prosperity.

Some surprising findings of "A Portrait of Louisiana" include the following:

• Women in Louisiana live longer than men and have higher educational levels, yet earn an average of $16,000 less per year.
• The average life span for African Americans in Louisiana today (72.2 years) is shorter than that of Colombia, Vietnam and Venezuela. The average life span of an African American in New Orleans is 69.3 years, nearly as low as North Korea.
• Whites in Louisiana have wages and salaries on par with those African Americans earning the most. The median earnings for whites ranges from $25,000 to $37,000. For African Americans the same range is from $13,000 to $25,000.
• The 6.6% unemployment rate in Louisiana is well below the national average of 9.4%.

"This report explores actions needed to build an infrastructure of opportunity so that all in Louisiana can be productive citizens and reach their full potential," said Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-author of both this report and the American Human Development Report. "Doing so is critical to the economic growth and future competitiveness of Louisiana in the knowledge-based global marketplace of tomorrow," added co-author Kristen Lewis.

"In Louisiana, where we work with 16 state and local organizations such as the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, this report clearly illustrates the conditions residents were struggling with even prior to the hurricanes of 2005—limited access to education, lower incomes, and shorter lives—and argues for a comprehensive solution for recovery," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, which helped to fund the report with the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the Foundation for the Mid-South. "And it comes at a crucial time, given the financial challenges facing the state and nation, to help policymakers prioritize how to use scarce funds."

"A Portrait of Louisiana," like the American Human Development Report, was published by the Social Science Research Council. Go to measureofamerica.org for the full text of the report and interactive maps of Louisiana.

However, we must also soberly assess the challenges yet before Louisiana. This report paints an often troubling picture of long-standing human disparities, some of which have been exacerbated by natural/man-allowed disaster and the global economic crisis. The report's Human Development (HD) Index is a user-friendly method of comparing the condition of communities. This analysis has great potential to guide policy-making processes and to support data-driven thinking that moves beyond the assumptions of historical parochialism.

This report was developed by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) in partnership with Oxfam America and other organizations committed to fully recovering the lives of Gulf Coast citizens.