CERLAC Review: News

Community Rights and Corporate Responsibility

CERLAC conference papers and testimonials collected in co-edited volume

by Shayna Buhler

Canadian extractive activities in Latin America have taken off in recent years. Neoliberal regimes and international financial institutions have encouraged deregulation, privatization, and export promotion, which in turn have spurred investment. This has led to sharp conflicts between local communities and transnational mining and oil companies supported by local states and by the Canadian government.

In May 2002, CERLAC and MiningWatch Canada co-sponsored a conference on “Canadian Mining Companies in Latin America: Community Rights and Corporate Responsibility” at York University. Based on a number of papers and testimonials originally presented at the conference, Community Rights and Corporate Responsibility: Canadian Mining and Oil Companies in Latin America was published in 2006 by Between the Lines Press.

One of the key highlights of the period covered in this Review was a series of panels in honour of our dear colleague Professor Liisa North, called “The Political Economy of Social (In)Justice in Latin America” It was a wonderful occasion to share the work of Liisa’s colleagues and students, and it reflected the various ways in which she has been pivotal in shaping debates around development, peace-building, and social justice in the academic community both here in Canada and the region. I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to Professors Yasmine Shamsie, John Cameron, and Louis Lefeber for their participation in the organization of the event.

We were delighted to host a number of our graduate students in the presentation of their research in the area through our Brown Bag Seminar Series. We also continued our co-sponsorship of the outstanding work of the University Consortium for the Global South, and provided support for the convening of the Brazilian Studies Seminar Series and the organization of a new Gender Study group.

Our project based on the development of a Latin American Network on Human Rights Education and Research (RedLEIDH) provided a number of opportunities to strengthen our links with regional organizations and universities. Among them was the organization of a conference in March 2007 called “Ethnicity, Violence and Exclusion in Colombia: The Struggles of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Communities.” Marshall Beck produced an excellent report on the conference, which is available on our website. The success of the conference was in large part the result of the hard work of Bill Fairbairn, then the coordinator of the project, so to him my most sincere thanks. Bill played a pivotal role in the development of our project from its very beginnings, and I would like to express my gratitude for all his hard work, commitment to human rights in the region, and for being such a wonderful colleague to us all. I would like to offer Beatriz Munarriz, the new coordinator, a very warm welcome to our project. My deep appreciation also goes to Benjamin Cornejo for his outstanding contribution to the very successful implementation of the project over the last three years.

As part of the RedLEIDH project, we supported the participation of Nora Cortiñas, one of the founders of Argentina’s Madres de Plaza de Mayo, as the 2006 special guest in the Baptista Lecture Series). As usual, we benefited from the presence of a large number of visiting speakers who facilitated a wealth of seminars, film screenings, photo exhibits and panel discussions for our community. Many of these activities attract not only our Fellows and students at the university, but also provide rewarding opportunities to extend our involvement with the community in the greater Toronto area. We are thankful to all the visitors for the experiences and knowledge they share with us.

The Centre’s coordinator, Shana Yael Shubs, left us for a year, but for very good reasons: Teo, her first son. To her and Fernando, the proud father, our warmest congratulations. During her absence, John Carlaw took responsibility for the demanding task of running the Centre. John, we are thankful for your work and delighted with the effectiveness with which you carried out your responsibility. It has been a pleasure for me to work with you.

As my term as Director concluded last summer, we were immensely fortunate that Professor Eduardo Canel accepted our request to become the Interim Director during this academic year, and in July 2008 he will begin a full three-year term as Director of the Centre. Eduardo has already undertaken a large number of exciting initiatives at CERLAC, and we are all very pleased to see the Centre taking firm steps toward a new stage of growth and academic excellence.

I should conclude this message with a heartfelt note of appreciation to all the colleagues who made my six years as Director of CERLAC a pleasurable and very rewarding professional experience. I will not miss you since I know I will continue to be involved in the Centre in other capacities, but you should all know how gratifying it has been for me to become a part of the CERLAC community at York. My years at the Centre will certainly remain one of my warmest memories. Thanks again to all of you.

This book investigates Canadian involvement and resulting conflicts in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The contributors address interconnected questions of policy and practice, community-corporate relations, and the role of civil society. They ask the Canadian government to “play a role in ensuring responsible behaviour on the part of Canadian mining companies abroad.” The contributors propose a framework for negotiated mining and oil initiatives that promote sustainable development and meet the broader development goals of local communities. Joan Kuyek of MiningWatch Canada urges readers “to work with the network of NGOs and communities affected by mining across the planet to put global weight behind community struggles mine by mine, and to pressure progressive changes to human rights, environmental, and taxation laws throughout the Americas and beyond.”

Liisa North is a CERLAC Fellow and Professor Emerita of Political Science at York University. Timothy David Clark is a PhD candidate in Political Science at York University, and the former Adjunct Director for the Center for Sustainable Development in Temuco, Chile. Viviana Patroni is Associate Professor of Social Sciences at York University and the former Director of CERLAC.

For more information or to purchase Community Rights and Corporate Responsibility: Canadian Mining and Oil Companies in Latin America, please visit Between the Lines Publishers at www.btlbooks.com.

CERLAC hosts an open, bilingual (English/Spanish) listserv on mining issues in the Americas for activists and researchers. To subscribe, send an e-mail to cerlac2@yorku.ca with "subscribe mining-americas" in the subject line.

The Extractive Industries Research Group (EIRG) brings together faculty and graduate students at York University in a multidisciplinary collaborative research group on mining and other extractive industries.

Since forming in the spring of 2007, the group has provided research and organizational support for academic and civil society initiatives concerning the social, political, and environmental impact of these industries around the world. Recent projects include a national conference on mining held in Ecuador to coincide with that country’s process of constitutional reform, and a proposal for a York-based conference on mining in Latin America.

Current members include professors and doctoral students from the departments of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Osgoode Hall Law School, who meet approximately once a month to work on related projects, discuss the members’ current research, and share resources. Researchers interested in getting involved with EIRG are encouraged to contact yorkeirg@gmail.com for more information.

On June 30, 2007, Viviana Patroni completed two consecutive terms as Director of CERLAC and formally stepped down from this position. After six years of her tireless and sincere dedication to CERLAC activities, Viviana leaves behind a strong and inclusive organization with important initiatives that were developed and strengthened under her leadership.

She has organized a number of very successful international conferences on topics such as migration, mining activities and community rights, human rights in Colombia, and social (in)justice in Latin America. In addition to maintaining a remarkably active and diverse lineup of events every year, she has helped to establish the Jagan and Baptista Lecture Series as key events for the university and the broader community.

During Viviana’s directorship, CERLAC has established new institutional linkages with universities and organizations throughout the region through student exchange programs, collaborative research projects, joint workshops and conferences, and hosting a number of visiting scholars at the Centre over the years. Institutional linkages have been especially strengthened and extended since 2005 through CERLAC’s Latin American Human Rights Education and Research Network (RedLEIDH, see p.1).

Here at York, Viviana has been particularly responsive to the needs and interests of both students and faculty, and has provided institutional support to a variety of exciting new initiatives, including Fair Trade at York, the University Consortium on the Global South (UCGS), the Gender and Politics Study Group, the York/CERLAC Brazilian Studies Seminar Series, the Caribbean Graduate Students’ Network, and the Extractive Industries Research Group. Viviana’s tenure is also noteworthy for having cultivated meaningful and fruitful opportunities for engaging with the broader community outside the university and with a range of community organizations throughout the region. All this reflects Viviana’s conviction that “there are critical tools we can contribute to the work that our colleagues in the region carry out in our collective struggles for a more just society.”

CERLAC has grown and benefited from Viviana’s leadership in innumerable ways, and we are most appreciative of her tireless commitment and her strong and broad vision. We will dearly miss having her as Director, though we are fortunate that she will continue to be closely involved in our initiatives, most notably as she continues to co-direct RedLEIDH.

CERLAC is delighted to announce that Eduardo Canel is the new director of CERLAC. He has been the Interim Director since July 2007, and will begin a full three-year term in July 2008.

A York alumnus and recipient of CERLAC’s Graduate Diploma, Eduardo has been involved in CERLAC’s activities since its establishment. As a graduate student, he worked on the Centre’s projects and delivered seminars here, and now, as an accomplished scholar and a very popular professor in York’s International Development Studies (IDS) and Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) programs, he has maintained close ties to CERLAC as a member of the Executive Committee.

Originally from Uruguay, Eduardo’s research has focused on social movements and processes of change in Latin American societies. Social movements in Latin America were the subject of his well-known and internationally recognized earlier work. His current work focuses on the operation of neighbourhood councils in Montevideo, Uruguay, and their efforts to democratize city politics and create a new, more community-based model of governance. He is currently completing a manuscript for a book tentatively titled Cities of Citizens? Experiments in Urban Democracy in Latin America.

No stranger to directing programs at the university, Eduardo served as coordinator of the undergraduate LACS program from 1995-2001, and from 2006-2007 he was the coordinator of the undergraduate IDS program. From 2007-2008 Eduardo was the Interim Director of CERLAC.

CERLAC is very fortunate to have such an accomplished scholar, committed colleague, and long-time friend lead the Centre over the next three years. Welcome Eduardo!

In 2006, CERLAC joined dozens of other Canadian civil society organizations to endorse a statement on global corporate social responsibility abroad. The statement addresses the highly questionable actions of Canadian mining companies in developing countries, where cases of human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and displacement of indigenous peoples are frequently reported. The statement calls on the Canadian government to enforce more stringent standards on Canadian companies that operate beyond state borders. Of particular importance is the need to move beyond the voluntary system of corporate social responsibility. While the statement highlights the need for a regulatory body that holds corporations accountable in observing international human rights codes and environmental standards, the signatories also note the importance of improved compliance mechanisms and the inclusion of human rights standards in World Bank projects.

Professor Lee Lorch, a 92-year-old distinguished and internationally renowned mathematician, won two prestigious awards in 2007.

In January, he was the recipient of the 2007 Joint Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America’s Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics. The names of the previous recipients, including one other Canadian, read as a “who’s who” in mathematics.

And in December, he was named a corresponding member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, one of only 17 non-Cubans worldwide—and the first Canadian—to receive the honour.

Professor Lee Lorch has led a life that amazes. Lee has received national and international recognition for being an outspoken and fearless champion of human rights and social justice. His tireless defense of individuals who are persecuted for their race or beliefs has earned him honorary doctorates at various universities.

Lee is a much appreciated friend of CERLAC. He is a long-term supporter of Latin American studies at York, a fighter for democratic freedoms in Chile, and has struggled for the liberation of an unjustly incarcerated mathematician in Uruguay. His frequent contributions to LACYORK and Global-South postings attest to his special concern for the right of Cubans to have their own form of government, and more recently for the same right for Venezuelans.

Lee has a fine sense of humour and a way with teasing sarcasm. And when he talks about matters of great concern to him—a frequent occurrence—he does it without any of that deadly earnestness that can turn a meeting or a social occasion into a dreary one.

In February 2007, CERLAC joined 39 other organizations and 61 Canadian MPs in signing an open letter to the government of Colombia. The letter, published in Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper, expressed indignation over the declarations of paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso regarding his role in the disappearance and assassination of Kimy Pernia Domicó, whom he accused of working with FARC rebels. The letter repudiated the branding of those engaged in the legitimate defense of human rights as subversives in order to justify committing crimes against them, and demanded justice regarding the disappearance of Kimy and all the crimes carried out by paramilitary forces in Colombia.