Access to information and human rights in extractive activities: The cases of Nicaragua, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic

Abstract

The present report seeks to disseminate the arguments and recommendations from civil society and affected populations presented at the public hearing, “The Right of Access to Information and Transparency in Environmental Management, Granting, Monitoring and Control of Extractive Activities in the Americas”. The hearing was held on Saturday March 18, 2017, from 10:30-11:15 AM in Washington, DC, within the framework of the 61st Session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). During the session, the ineffective application the right to public information in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic in the field of extractive industries was exposed, implying the violation of other rights such as: life, health, physical integrity, healthy and balancedenvironment, citizen participation, consultation, among others; often adversely affecting the most vulnerable populations, subjected to a situation of historical disadvantage, such as women, indigenous peoples, peasants and people of African descent. The request for the public hearing was requested by: Movimiento Salvemos Santo Domingo, with support from Centro Humboldt of Nicaragua; Acción Ciudadana and Convergencia Social y de ONG’s “Tezulutlán”, with support from the Organized Communities in Resistance for their Water Resources of Guatemala; Fundación Justicia y Transparencia (JTF); Observatorio Dominicano de Políticas Públicas of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo; Espacio Nacional para la Transparencia en las Industrias Extractivas (ENTRE), with support from communities affected by mining in La Piñita, Tocoa, and El Yagal, of the Sanchez Ramirez province of the Dominican Republic; Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR) together with the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF). This took place within the framework of the follow-up regarding policies on access to information and transparency in Latin America and the Caribbean carried out by these organizations. Given the proximity of the majority of the organizations requesting the hearing with the communities and people affected by extractive activities, the intention of this report is to share the testimony of the victims themselves around the difficulty and, in some cases, lack of access to information on extractive activities that affect their environment and basic rights. In addition, it addresses some of the patterns linked to the lack of transparency with regards to the fiscal policy in the field of extractive activities, examples that reflect the inefficiency of the administrative institutional and judicial procedures for obtaining information about the mapping of t concessions, payment of royalties, tax exemptions, licensing and environmental auditing, among others. Although these issues are of undeniable public interest, they are often unfortunately managed with secrecy on the part of the public administration in the countries which were the subject of the hearing. With a significant number of representations and petitioners, the hearing provided more first-hand information and analyses to contribute to the development of the IACHR’s in its mandate with regards to the exercise of the right of access to information on environmental management, granting, monitoring, and control of extractive activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The hearing was chaired by Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, who was accompanied by Commissioner James Cavallaro and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Edison Lanza.