The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has appealed to international and regional organisations to intervene urgently in the long-running mining dispute at Chinese Landing, warning that the recent movement of heavy equipment onto the Region One community’s titled lands could place residents at risk.
In a statement yesterday, the organisation accused the government of failing to implement precautionary measures issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2023 for the protection of members of the Indigenous Carib community.
The appeal was directed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, the Chair of the IACHR and the President of the European Union, among others.
The GHRA also asked the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme and the European Union in Guyana to forward the appeal to the relevant authorities.
It said a private individual was moving heavy vehicles and mining equipment onto Chinese Landing’s lands despite protests by residents and the outstanding IACHR measures.
“The situation is dangerous and lives are at risk,” the GHRA charged, while describing the government as a “silent witness” to the development.
The statement did not identify the miner. However, Kiskadee Watch reported on Monday that residents had blocked equipment believed to be associated with businessman Wayne Vieira, the holder of disputed mining blocks within the village’s title.
According to that report, the Chinese Landing-Tassawini Village Council said that at least nine excavators, two bulldozers and several dredge engines had been transported on barges into the area without the council being notified or granting permission.
Residents on Friday stood in the path of some of the machinery and instructed its operators to return it to the barge. The council called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to halt the operations while mediation and court proceedings were continuing.
In a further report, Kiskadee Watch said that after four days of resistance, residents had observed some of the blocked machinery being returned to a barge, signalling a possible retreat
The council had said mining resumed in March and that it was informed during the National Toshaos Council Conference in July that a ban on mining in the area had been lifted.
Precautionary measures
On July 21, 2023, the IACHR adopted Resolution 41/2023 granting precautionary measures in favour of Chinese Landing residents after concluding that they faced a serious and urgent risk of irreparable harm.
The Commission requested that Guyana adopt culturally appropriate measures to protect residents’ lives and personal integrity, consult with the beneficiaries on those measures and report on investigations into the events that led to its decision.
The GHRA, however, yesterday said the precautionary measures had not been implemented and called on the international bodies to press the government to give effect to them immediately.
It also sought the establishment of an international mechanism to monitor Indigenous rights in Guyana, arguing that the Indigenous Peoples’ Commission existed only “on paper” and had failed to provide effective protection.
The association further asked for the situation to be brought urgently to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council.
The government has previously rejected the basis on which the IACHR measures were issued. In January 2024, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira said it had formally asked the Commission to withdraw them, contending that the case rested on “misrepresentation” and was “not based on facts”.
Teixeira said at the time that Guyana had submitted a report and supporting evidence to the IACHR but was awaiting a substantive response to its request.
Following the Commission’s 2023 decision, the government temporarily halted mining at Chinese Landing and dispatched police and GGMC personnel to the area. It also proposed a fact-finding mission to investigate allegations concerning intimidation, health and environmental harm.
The community subsequently clarified that it had not sought a permanent cessation of mining by residents but wanted outside operations conducted without its consent stopped.
Chinese Landing received title to its lands in 1976. Vieira obtained mining permits within the titled area during the 1990s, giving rise to a dispute which has traversed administrative proceedings and the courts for more than two decades.
In its appeal, the GHRA said the wider treatment of Indigenous lands in Guyana was inconsistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and had allowed land and natural resources to be exploited without the permission of the communities affected.
It called on the international community to act before the situation at Chinese Landing deteriorated further.
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