“We must be the ones who decide what happens here in Didipio. If we don’t want to be mined, then others must respect this decision.” – Caesar Marino, Didipio elderFor nearly two decades, the Indigenous community of Didipio in the Philippines has been fighting to stop a gold and copper mine that threatens their environment, farmlands, and families. The mining company and government have responded with violence and intimidation and ignored the people’s rights. But now there is real chance to stop this mine once and for all. In August, the United Nations’ Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) found the Philippines out of compliance with its own laws and with international conventions on Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Now, during the one year before it reports back to CERD, the government must show that it is enforcing Indigenous rights laws.
This is a moment when international pressure counts. Your letter can help the Indigenous Peoples of Didipio stop the violation of their rights and the destruction of their sustainable economy. Please join us. Stand with the Didipio people by sending a letter to the President of the Philippines today.
Youth Action: Help the Indigenous People of Didipio Protect their Lands, Homes, and Rivers.
This Cultural Survival/Global Response action alert is issued at the request of and with information provided by the Didipio Earth Savers Multi-Purpose Association (DESAMA), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth-Philippines, and Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links.
For more information about Indigenous Peoples and mining in the Philippines, see www.piplinks.org and http://www.oxfam.org.au/resources/filestore/originals/OAus-MiningOmbudsmanDidipioPhilippines-0907.pdf
For the CERD report, see: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/co/CERD.C.PHL.CO.20.doc
For information about the impacts of gold mining, see www.nodirtygold.org/dirty_golds_impacts.cfm
Special thanks to Oxfam Australia and LRC-KsK/FoE Phils for use of their photos and to Julien Katchinoff for creating the map.
