By Fr. Antonio Ponce OMI
Oblate JPIC Director – US Province
On March 19, Representatives of the
Catholic bishops of Latin America Conference appeared on a hearing before the 154
session of Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington DC
where they shared the impact and called for standards in mining companies that
operate in Latin America.
The hearing was held in response to
a petition filed by the Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (CELAM), religious
men and women, Catholic relief agencies and Red Ecclesial Pan-Amazon (REPAM)
calling for effective protection of indigenous communities and environment.
In their presentations, Latin America
Catholic Leaders said they were very concerned about the negative consequences
that the mining activities are having, especially in poor communities, in
particular, indigenous communities who face human rights violations and live
with pollution of water.
Speaking at the hearing, Bishop
Alvaro Ramazzini, representative of Guatemala said: "We can live without gold, silver or oil, but not without water.
That is why we care so much what is happening in our communities with mining
corporations."
In attendance were Archbishop Pedro
Barreto of Peru, Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini of Guatemala represented CELAM, along
with Fr Peter Hughes.
In Solidarity were Bishop Donald Bolen, who heads the
Peace and Justice Commission at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
(CCCB) and U.S Catholic Bishops and some USCCB staff.
Missionary Oblate JPIC Director Fr. Ponce and
staff George attended the hearing.
