International Accountability Project : South & Central America

South & Central Africa

Warnings from Huabal, Perú
This is a news report from the village of Huabal, Peru, as part of IAP's River Defenders Video Project. The villagers of Huabal have powerful experiences to share with other communities in Peru who could face forced displacement from a dam.

Inambari Dam in the Peruvian Amazon Cancelled for Now
Brazilian EGASUR's concession to build the controversial Inambari Hydroelectric Complex in Peru has been revoked. Locals, however, are still concerned that this project--which would flood over 65 villages and destroy vast areas of pristine rainforest--will regain momentum.

Who Stands for the Amazon?
IAP was featured in the April edition of Common Ground magazine! Read about the work that IAP, Amazon Watch, International Rivers and other Bay Area organizations are doing to protect the Amazon Rainforest.

24 native languages in Colombia at risk of extinction
The Culture Ministry of Colombia said on Wednesday that 19 native languages in the country are at serious risk of extinction and five others are almost disappearing. Indigenous leaders say forced displacement is to blame.

The Guardian: Peru to expel British 'Tarzan agitator' Paul McAuley
Missionary told to leave after helping Amazon tribes resist incursion of oil, gas and mining firms into the rainforest

BBC News: Peru leader rejects indigenous land rights law
President Alan Garcia of Peru has refused to sign a law that would give indigenous people more power to stop oil and mining projects on their lands.

New York Times: Tribes of Amazon Find an Ally Out of ‘Avatar’
April 13th, 2010
'Avatar' Director James Cameron throws his support behind the indigenous-led movement to stop the Belo Monte dam in Brazil.

Peru tribes file IFC complaint over Maple pollution
IAP supported two Shipibo communities in the Peruvian Amazon to file a complaint at the World Bank's Compliance Advisor Ombudsman

IAP Assists Indigenous Peruvian Communities to File World Bank Complaint about Maple Oil Project
With the support of International Accountability Project, Accountability Counsel, and partners in Peru, the communities are filing a complaint to demand accountability for contamination of their environment and associated health impacts caused by Maple Energy's oil operations.

BRAZIL: Development Bank Funds Destructive Projects, Say Activists
Public money in Brazil is being used by the state development bank to finance deforestation projects and others that trample rights, concentrate wealth, and encourage "imperialist" expansion of large national companies, according to activists at a three-day meeting in this southeastern city.

Argentina: Disappearing Farmers, Disappearing Food
This article in Toward Freedom shows how in Argentina food sovereignty and the rights of indigenous people to remain on their land are jeopardized by the massive production of soy.

The Dominion: Recent killings linked to Canadian-owned nickel mine in Guatemala
Two Qeqchi leaders were shot and killed and over a dozen wounded this week near the site of a shuttered nickel mine in Guatemala.

Over 500 families in São Paulo left homeless after forced evictions
This articles describes the eviction of more than 500 families in São Paulo, Brazil.

The Guardian: Struggle of indigenous peoples in Peru illustrates worldwide trend
Across the globe, as mining and oil firms race for dwindling resources, indigenous peoples are battling to defend their lands - often paying the ultimate price.

Colombia Reports: Biofuel production violates human rights: UN, NGOs
Human rights organizations believe the cultivation of biofuel crops such as palm tree oil is threatening the lives and land of Afro-Colombians, farmers and indigenous Colombians.

Environment News Service: Guatemalans Resist Mega-Mines, Hydropower Dams
Amidst the growing controversy surrounding foreign-controlled resource extraction and mega-development projects in Guatemala, a group of community leaders is demanding a two-year moratorium on the granting of mining concessions by the Guatemalan government.

Colombia Reports: Mining Company Illegally Exploits Sacred Land
U.S./Colombian company Muriel Mining Corporation illegally started preparations for mining on indigenous land in the north of Choco that's protected under the constitution, local indigenous groups say.

IPS Article: PERU, Open-Pit Mine Continues to Swallow City
January 9th, 2009
An immense open-pit mine located 4380 metres above sea level is swallowing up the centre of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru's central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to nearby villages.