1st Encounter of civil society organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean eiti 2019

Spanish Version

Crudo Transparente

Transparency, governance and territories: challenges for the extractive sector

MEMOIRS

1st Encounter of civil society organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean eiti 2019

The 2019 EITI Meeting of Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean "Transparency, Governance and Territories: Challenges for the Extractive Sector" that took place from the 3rd to the 6th of September at the Cosmos 100 Hotel in Bogota, was organized by Crudo Transparente, Alianza por la Minería Responsable, Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR). Organizations, government and community representatives came together to promote a strategic framework for action intended towards civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The latter was conducted in addition to the establishment of an open, informed and responsible mining-energy industry in the face of challenges such as: accountability, good practices, and relationships between communities and companies.

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EITI in Latin America and the Caribbean

This meeting was held around The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a tool that seeks to promote open and responsible management of extractive resources. The idea was to bring together country representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean that are part of the EITI or are interested in adopting this tool, as is the case of Ecuador, Chile and Brazil.

President of the Board of Directors at Crudo Transparente

EITI: Importance and benefits for the region

Álvaro Jiménez

Welcome cocktail start of the meeting.

Group focused on the "Civic space and human rights" working table

Group focused on the "Gender and Extractives" working table

Representatives of civil society from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Chile actively participated in the socialization and monitoring of information and practices in the hydrocarbons sector.

Participating Countries

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Yessica Prieto Ramos, Project Management and Research Directress at Crudo Transparente talks about the situation in Colombia regarding the EITI

EITI Colombia

Colombia has been a member of EITI since 2014, with a "Satisfactory Progress" rating, the highest obtained in the Latin America and Caribbean region. For the country, the most urgent challenges are found in social and environmental issues such as the disaggregation and effective appropriation of the EITI initiative at the territorial level, the real beneficiaries, and the contribution of Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (MAPE in Spanish) to public finances.

As part of the interim civic team on the EITI: Mr. Larry Carryl talks about Guyana's situation vis-à-vis the EITI. Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and Guyana Policy Forum (PFG).

EITI Guyana

Guyana has been an EITI member since 2017, it has helped to improve transparency processes in the energy sector. The Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) addresses the problem of environmental wealth in the country caused by gold mining. Their main challenge raising public awareness among its citizens of EITI and its benefits for the region.

The challenge is to convert EITI, a mechanism which allows people to know the reality of the extractive sector and arrive at its adoption as a decision-making tool

Yessica Prieto Ramos Project Management and Research Directress at Crudo Transparente

Waldo Terry Carrillo from the organization Amigos del Río San Rodrigo (ARSR) together with Carla Flores Lot from Carto Crítica talk about the situation in Mexico regarding the EITI

EITI Mexico

Mexico has been a member of EITI since 2017. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)'s Resource Governance Index has ranked Mexico as satisfactory.The civil society organizations participation has been limited due to the loss of access to information and the government's lack of transparency.

Dario Rodríguez, a member of Transparency International talks about Brazil's interest in the EITI as a tool.

Brazil

Brazil is not yet a member of the EITI but has shown interest in becoming a part. Because, Transparency International Brazil believes that EITI can contribute valuable elements in their environmental program to face challenges such as the invasion of mining in indigenous lands and protected areas, illegal gold extraction, diversion of royalties generated by oil and mining and contamination of rivers.

Adalid Rodríguez, Representative ofNational Convergence Forum (Fonac in Spanish) from Honduras

Vanessa Cueto La Rosa, Vice President of Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR) from Peru

Edwin Palma Egea, President of Unión Sindical Obrera de la Industria del Petróleo (USO)

Mauricio Alarcón from the Citizenship and Development Foundation (CDF), talks about the context in which Ecuador finds itself facing the mining-energy sector.

Ecuador

Even though Ecuador is not yet a member of EITI, it has shown interest in being part of this initiative.The Citizenship and Development Foundation (CDF) has promoted democracy, transparency, participation, social control and open government in this country. However, it faces a lack of transparency and cooperation from the government and foreign companies.

Maia Seeger Directress of Sustentarse, an organization dedicated to the defense of the environment, human rights, sustainability of life and common goods, gives a speech on the situation in Chile regarding its interest in EITI.

Chile

Chile's interest in being part of the EITI is due to the fact that the adoption of this global standard for good governance of the oil, gas and natural resources sector is essential to make information transparent in transfers from the extractive sector to the government. The country faces the challenge of mitigating corruption, building trust, and increasing the credibility and reputation of the industry.

Álvaro Jiménez ​ President of the Board of Directors of Crudo Transparente.

“We have promoted this meeting because we believe that it is an opportunity to consolidate and build civil society on essential governance issues for the region, each country has different and differentiated situations”

During the 1st Encounter of civil society organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean EITI 2019, different dialogues were held that had as central themes the state of indigenous communities facing the hydrocarbon sector, and Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (MAPE in Spanish). In addition, environmental issues related to extractive activity were discussed and how a greater participation of women can be implemented within the industry.

Dialogues

Ford Foundation Program Officer and former representative of civil society from Latin America and the Caribbean at the EITI Board.

Ana Carolina González

New EITI standard, validation and governance.

Special Advisor to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, ONIC.

Armando Valbuena Wouriyu

Indigenous villages, business and human rights.

Maritza Ruiz​ Dominican Observatory of Public Policies ODPP – UASD

It is an opportunity to broaden the framework of advocacy, at least in the case of civil society organizations like us, who come from the academy of ‘doing and providing’ more in-depth knowledge about countless things from the legal frameworks that are proposed

Director of the Colombian Mining Observatory (OCMI in Spanish) from Universidad del Rosario.

Leonardo Güiza Suárez

Gender lenses and environmental impacts.

Civil society representative of the EITI LAC Board.

César Gamboa

EITI: Lessons learned and challenges for the next three years.

Group focused on the "Environmental and social transparency" working table

Kandis Sebro, Education and Research Officer from the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union (OWTU) from Trinidad and Tobago

Francisco Mantilaro, Otras Voces from Argentina

Director of Colombia Risk Analysis

Sergio Guzmán

Industry, confidence and political risk.

Environmental manager of Ecopetrol.

Santiago Martínez Ocampo

Communities and companies.

Carolina Rojas Hayes ​ Vice Minister of Mines

The idea is to boost a spirit of transparency with the EITI initiative, as public institutions become increasingly stronger with the support and oversight of civil society

Aurelia Tot Maas, representative of EITI Guatemala and Maritza Ruiz, representative of EITI Dominican Republic present the roadmap created after the 11th EITI Regional Meeting 2019.

In order to facilitate a strategic framework for action by civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of the challenges of transparency, good practices and relations between communities and companies, a series of commitments were established, through three guidelines, in a "Roadmap".

Roadmap guidelines

Transparency in environmental impact

Inclusion of ethnic groups

Gender and work agenda

ICONO 4

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ICONO 3

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ICONO 2

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ICONO 1

Roadmap guidelines

Agree on a definition of the term “gender” within the EITI standard, taking into account the various socio-cultural dimensions. At the same time, this definition should consider the impact of the extractive industry on the different actors that are involved in analysing gender. The non-decoupling of employment information should also be included in the standard. Likewise, it is important to detail how many jobs are direct and indirect, national or local and the subcategorization by positions. It is essential that the documents include information on unionized workers by gender and company, the situation or state of unionism in the corresponding country. In addition, companies' compliance with the labour laws of their countries must be verified.

Gender and work agenda

In order to make information about extractive projects in indigenous territories more transparent, it is considered necessary to include in the EITI standard, the prior consultation, one that is free and informed on any decision made about and in said territories. This in order to, detail the information on the situation of indigenous communities, in situations of risk or vulnerability. All EITI member countries that are signatories to Convention 169 must report on compliance with prior consultations for ethnic minorities in the context of extractive activities. On the other hand, those countries that are not signatories must inform what are the mechanisms used to carry out extractive projects and the effects in their populations.It is important to ensure that ethnic groups have their own representation at all levels of EITI representation. Make the situation of uncontacted indigenous peoples transparent and make it clear that their territories must be respected and free from any extractive activity within the framework of respecting the principle of intangibility. During the encounter we as civil society arrived at the conclusion that w demand inclusion of the principle of diversity, multiculturalism and respect for the worldview of our peoples.

Inclusion of ethnic groups

For civil society in Latin America it is important to make transparent the documentation on environmental impact-space studies regarding state secrets, environmental compliance reports and monitoring that state entities do on companies' environmental compliance reports. It is necessary that information be provided on the environmental liabilities and the impacts left. In addition, it must expand and go beyond the compliance payments that are established in the EITI. Regarding Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (MAPE in Spanish), mandatory information on its transparency should be included in the standards. The International Secretariat should create and support workshops on guide 21 that is addressed by MAPE, and prepare a report on that guide, with the aim of opening spaces to have a better understanding of this activity. At the national level, it is necessary to require that each country include information on MAPE and utilize participatory research mechanisms with communities to move forward on a better understanding of the social, environmental and economic value of MAPE. With respect to non-metallic minerals, it is important that the international secretariat expand the definition of this type of mining and make its payments transparent. This type of activity is considered to have a major impact on society and the environment.

Transparency in environmental impact

The destruction of the economy of nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary communities had affected the food system of the peoples and endangered 301,000 indigenous.

Armando Valbuena WouriyuSpecial Advisor to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, ONIC.

Vice Minister of Mines

Carolina Rojas Hayes

Closing session

Patricia Gamba, EITI Colombia Coordinator

Aurelia Tot Maas, NGO coordinator of Alta Verapaz – Congav from Guatemala

René Artist,Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Surinamee

Thank you for attending and supporting the realization of the

1st Encounter of civil society organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean EITI 2019

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