We, the undersigned organizations, express our solidarity with and support for the affected communities and the petitioners against Canadian mining firm OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. Several petitioners, representing different sectors and affected groups, have filed a case to cancel the renewal of OceanaGold’s mining agreement (Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement/FTAA) with the Philippine government. They contend that OceanaGold’s large-scale mining operations in the province of Nueva Vizcaya have violated Philippine laws (case name: ‘Mangalinao et al. v. Executive Secretary Bersamin et al.’).
OceanaGold’s mining operations in the town of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya have been implicated in environmental, socio-economic, and civil-political rights violations, which have been assailed by institutions such as the Philippine Commission on Human Rights and various Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In 2021, OceanaGold’s FTAA was renewed by the Office of the President for another 25 years, amid the lack of prior and proper public consultation and consent, and in clear violation of the provincial environmental code, which bans open-pit mining. Environmentally critical projects such as mining are required to secure prior consultation and consent before the President can approve the FTAA renewal, which was not the case.
This gross violation of the constitutional rights to local autonomy, to public participation, and to a balanced and healthful ecology—ultimately, the people’s right to say “no” to OceanaGold—is the subject of the petition filed by indigenous and community leaders, together with Bishop Elmer Mangalinao of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayombong, on Earth Day on April 22, 2024.
Crucially, OceanaGold’s operations continue to threaten Nueva Vizcaya’s watershed—and its protectors--that provides water for 3.9 million Filipinos, irrigation for 90,000 hectares of agricultural land, and life for 480 different floral and faunal species.
We believe that international environmental and human rights laws, norms, and standards were disregarded by OceanaGold’s FTAA renewal, including the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the UN Resolution Recognizing the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, among others.
We thus urge our respective domestic governments, as well as the relevant diplomatic missions and UN bodies based in our respective countries, to conduct parallel investigations and inquiries into the violations perpetrated by OceanaGold’s FTAA renewal.
We invite shareholders and other relevant parties across OceanaGold’s global value chain to undertake environmental and human rights due diligence, and hold OceanaGold accountable.
Lastly, we enjoin the international community to support the campaign to #CancelOceanaGold, by organizing sustained protests, lobbying against OceanaGold and its allies in government, amplifying the affected people’s aspirations for justice, and raising financial and material support for the long legal battle ahead.
No Consultation, No Consent, No Renewal!
Save our Watersheds and Defend our Water Defenders!
Cancel OceanaGold’s Mining FTAA Now!
Signatories
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center / Kasama sa Kalikasan / Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC/KsK/FoE Phils) | Philippines
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) | Philippines
LILAK Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights | Philippines
Caritas Philippines | Philippines
Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples | Philippines
Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific | International
A Radical Guide | United States
Academia Cidadã – Citizenship Academy | Portugal
AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology for the People
Alyansa ng Novo Vizcayano para sa Kalikasan (ANVIK)
Ang Aroroy Ay Alagaan, Inc. | Philippines
Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe | Philippines
Aroroy Youth Environmental Guardian | Philippines
Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) | Asia
Assisi Development Foundation | Philippines
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association | Bangladesh
Bontoc-Lagawe Development and Social Action Center (Bon-Lag DSAC) | Philippines
Both ENDS | Netherlands
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights | Canada
Caraga Watch | Philippines
Cebu Alliance against Reclamation for Life and Environment (CARE for Life and Environment) | Philippines
Center for Environmental Concerns - | Philippines
Centre for Environmental Justice | Sri Lanka
Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur | India
Columban Missionaries | Philippines
Communities that Protect and Resist | United States
Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ) | Nepal
Cordillera Peoples Alliance | Philippines
Deep Green Resistance | International
Deepgreenarts | United States
Earthworks | USA
Environmental Defenders Congress | Philippines
Focus on the Global South | Asia
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary | Philippines
Friends of the Earth APAC | Asia-Pacific
Friends of the Earth Australia | Australia
Friends of the Earth Japan | Japan
Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle - Coast Sailish Territories (Vancouver) | Canada
Friends with Environment in Development | Uganda
Green Advocates International | Liberia
Greenpeace Philippines | Philippines
Ifugao Tribe | Philippines
Ilocos Network for the Environment | Philippines
Institute for Policy Studies - Trade and Mining Project | United States
International Accountability Project | Philippines
International Allies Against Mining in El Salvador | International
Inter-Cultural Organizations' Network for Solidarity and Peace, Inc. (ICON-SP) | Philippines
Jalaur River for the People's Movement | Philippines
Jamaa Resource Initiatives | Kenya
Kalanguya tribe | Philippines
Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment | Philippines
Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas | Philippines
Lawyers’ Association for Human Rights of Nepalese Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) | Nepal
Laudato Si' Movement Pilipinas | Philippines
Law Office of Cooper Brinson | United States
Les Amis de la Terre-Togo | Togo
London Mining Network | United Kingdom
Lumad Mindanaw Peoples Federation | Philippines
Lunhaw-Ecology Ministry of the Diocese of San Carlos, Neg. Occ. | Philippines
Marian Women Producers Cooperative | Philippines
Migrante Alberta | Canada
Migrante Melbourne | Australia
Mindanao Cross | Philippines
MiningWatch Canada | Canada
MONES | Mongolia
NGO Forum on ADB | Asia
NTFP Exchange Programme Asia | South and Southeast Asia
Oyu Tolgoi Watch | Mongolia
Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network / FoE Palestine | Palestine
Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples' Rights | Philippines
Pangasinan People's Strike for the Environment | Philippines
PANGATAMAN Bikol | Philippines
Philippine Caucus for Peace | Australia
Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PHILRIGHTS) | Philippines
Philippine ICCA consortium | Philippines
philippinenbüro e.V. | Germany
Philippines Australia Solidarity Association (PASA) | Australia
Protect Sierra Madre for the People | Philippines
Rettet den Regenwald | Germany
Rivers without Boundaries Coalition | Mongolia
Roman Catholic Diocese of Marbel | Philippines
Sahabat Alam Malaysia - Friends of the Earth Malaysia | Malaysia
Saluadan | Philippines
Salva la Selva | Spain
Sarawak Dayak Iban Association | Malaysia
Save Cagayan Movement | Philippines
Sibuyanons Against Mining (SAM) | Philippines
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team | USA
Spirit of Eureka, South Australia | Australia
Spring Socialist Network | Canada
Sumkad ti Umili para ti Matagoan, Karbengan, Aglawlaw, Daga ken Dayaw (SUMKADD) | Philippines
WALHI / Friends of the Earth (FoE) Indonesia | Indonesia
Yes to Life, No to Mining | International
Young Franciscan Advocates | Philippines