HRC56: Panama's gold is green! A call for urgent action on climate change

During the annual Panel on the adverse effects of climate change on human rights, which took place at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, woman human rights defender Yannia Visuetti, part of the Afro-Panamanian social movement, gave a strong statement in which she mentioned a Canadian mining company for its responsibility in damaging the environment of rural communities in Panama. Yannia highlighted the massive protests that took place in Panama during the end of 2023 demanding that the government permanently close the Cobre Panama mine and declaring the mining company’s contract with the State unconstitutional. In her statement, Yannia mentioned that ‘these abusive practices reproduce colonial practices of territorial exploitation’ and asked the panel if they could provide information on the colonial legacy of damages related to climate change. 

In addition, Yannia mentioned that the case of Panama is emblematic of the type of exploitative practices of some multinational companies from the Global North operating in Latin America. She closed her statement by saying: ‘Panama’s gold is green’, alluding that the true value of Panama, and thus of the region, lies in its biodiversity and natural wealth, and not in metallic mining. 

Opinions of speakers and panelists

During the Panel, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk opened his speech by stating that ‘our planet, our human rights and our future are in profound danger’. He also mentioned the need to ensure ‘livelihood resistance for individuals and communities that are directly affected’ and proposed solutions such as ‘green economy’ and ‘human rights-based economy’. With an eye on finding solutions, both Volker Türk and Romell Antonio O. Cuenca, Assistant Secretary and Deputy Executive Director of the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines, mentioned the need to take advantage of the juncture offered in the context of the ‘Summit of the Future‘, including the Declaration on Future Generations, as an opportunity to intensify commitments with the youth. 

A call to action 

‘We have the ways and means to prevent an apocalyptic future,’ said Türk. Likewise, Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, Associate Professor of Sustainability Law at the University of Amsterdam and advisor to Blue Ocean Law, mentioned that ‘we have the legal framework, scientific understanding, and moral imperative to ensure livelihood resilience for all in the face of loss and damage’. 

An apocalyptic future was indeed presented by Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He said that by 2030, climate change could push more than 100 million people into extreme poverty. To avoid this, according to Zahedi, ‘equity-based and people-centered solutions’ must be sought. This need was also echoed by Wewerinke-Singh who emphasised the need for ‘affirmate measures to eliminate systemic discrimination and barriers that limit the adaptive capacity of groups’ and also the political will to ‘provide rights-based responses, through constructive engagement with the consultative processes, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations and action at the national level.’ 

In this regard, human rights defender Yannia Visuetti urges the international community to maintain attention to the situation in Latin America to ensure that solutions to climate issues include the participation of historically oppressed people such as people of African descent, and that international agreements are complied with. 

Watch the video and find Yannia’s full statement below. 

Read the full joint statement: 

As has been mentioned in this panel, States should take meaningful and targeted measures to minimize and remedy the impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights. This would mean to implement an economy that operates in accordance with human rights, to make sure that business activities are monitored and account for not complying with their responsibilities. This is not what we see in Latin America where business interests are above human rights. For example, last year, massive protests erupted in Panama when the government tried to elevate into law a contract with a Canadian mining company. The activities of the mine have contributed to air pollution and have impacted on the livelihoods of the communities for decades. While the protests were successful, the mine continues damaging the environment. These abusive practices replicate colonial practices of territorial exploitation. Can the panel provide some insights on the colonial legacies of climate change related loss and damage?

We publicly request the Panamanian government to:

1. Ensure the closure of the Cobre Panama mine and establish mechanisms of transparency and participation during the international arbitration initiated by the Canadian mining company. 
2. Implement and comply with the Mining Moratorium Law and ensure the restoration of contaminated areas, which are impacting in the livelihoods of the communities
3. Ban metallic mining at the constitutional level which contributes to climate change
4. Comply with its obligation under the Paris Agreement

To the international community, we ask you to set your eyes on Latin America and the emblematic case of Panama, especially with the inauguration of the new government. 

PANAMA’S GOLD IS GREEN!