AN EMAIL FROM AVAAZ.ORG: STOP RAPE AND MURDER FOR PROFIT

Today, dear reader, I am sharing an email from Avaaz.org - the youth activist group with a global campaigning-footprint.

I do hope that young and idealistic university students in Ghana will form Avaaz.org chapters on campuses across our nation - and work with their counterparts from around the world, to fight injustice: both here, elsewhere on the continent of Africa and the other continents on the surface of the planet Earth. Please read on:



Dear Friends,

When security forces of a Canadian mining company brutally evicted Mayan families from their villages in Guatemala, eleven women were raped, a community leader was killed, and a young man paralyzed.

Now villagers are standing up and suing HudBay Minerals for these horrific crimes -- but they need our help to match the corporate legal firepower and win their case!

The victims have filed a lawsuit in Canada, where HudBay’s headquarters are located. But HudBay is asking that the court turn over the lawsuit to Guatemala, where its weak courts are likely to let them go free.

Experts say that the ruling could have massive reverberations beyond Canadian borders -- a win for the plaintiffs could force HudBay and other multinationals to clean up their acts abroad.

The court hearing is happening now and the plaintiffs need our help to cover the legal costs -- if we raise enough funds, we can give these villagers the same legal firepower as HudBay’s corporate machine, achieve justice for the victims, and continue campaigning to protect human rights over profits around the world.

Click on the link below to chip in. If just 20,000 of us donate today, we could help end these mining murders for good by setting a key legal precedent: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_murder_and_rape_for_profit/?vl

Multinational companies are responsible for some of the most terrible crimes all over the world but shockingly, corporate abuses often go unpunished.

In mining alone, corporate giants like Rio Tinto and Barrick Gold are accused of a wide range of atrocities that include environmental destruction, brutal gang rapes, and even thousands of deaths -- from Tanzania to Papua New Guinea.

Winning this case could begin to put corporate wrongdoing in check.

Companies like HudBay can often act with impunity because they think their countries' courts won’t police the crimes they commit overseas.

Or they set up shell corporations designed to protect their headquarters from liability.

If we win this case, it could set a precedent that can help stop rapes, save entire villages, and protect fragile ecosystems -- no matter where these companies operate.

These firms have millions of dollars and will do whatever it takes to win this and similar cases because they know it’s a game changer.

Giving just a small amount will help in the fight to bring them to justice.

Click here to help:https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_murder_and_rape_for_profit/?vl

Courts are supposed to be places where people go to get justice. But all too often, corporate interests have made them the bastions of the rich and powerful.

We have taken on deep rooted corruption before and won. Now let's stand with and empower these victims and help create a world where no one is above the law.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Jamie, Pascal, Ari, Ricken, Maria Paz, Diego and the whole Avaaz team.


Sources:

Widow files $12M suit against mining company (CBC) http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/12/02/mining-lawsuit002.html


Guatemalan lawsuits to continue against HudBay, says lawyer (Mining Weekly) http://www.miningweekly.com/article/lawsuits-against-hudbay-over-guatemalan-project-to-continue-says-lawyer-2011-08-10


Lawsuits against Canadian company HudBay Minerals Inc. over human rights abuse in Guatemala (Klippensteins) http://www.chocversushudbay.com/


U.S. court revives human rights case against Rio Tinto (Financial Post) http://business.financialpost.com/2011/10/25/u-s-court-revives-human-rights-case-against-rio-tinto/


Award Winning Mining Company Being Sued for Violent Death of Community Leader: Industry Out of Step with Canadian Values and Expectations (Mining Watch Canada) http://www.miningwatch.ca/fr/node/6609


Claims of sexual abuses in Tanzania blow to Barrick Gold (Globe and Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/claims-of-sexual-abuses-in-tanzania-blow-to-barrick-gold/article2040735