Human Rights

Help Secure Human Rights in Guatemala

Monday, December 10, 2012
For more than 20 years, communities in Guatemala have sought justice for the massacre of loved ones that took place to make way for construction of the Chixoy Dam. They need your solidarity to demand reparations from the government, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

International Court Finds Guatemala Guilty for Rio Negro Massacres

Carlos Chen Osorio, who lost his wife and two toddler daughters in the massacre, leads the row during the Via Crucis
Carlos Chen Osorio, who lost his wife and two toddler daughters in the massacre, leads the row during the Via Crucis. Photo by James Rodriguez For more than 20 years, the Maya-Achi people displaced by the Chixoy Dam have sought justice for the massacre of their husbands, wives and children that took place during Guatamala's civil war in the early 1980s. Last week their years of effort were finally recognized when the Inter-American Court on Human Rights found Guatemala guilty of the violation of human rights against the communities of Rio Negro. “After so many years struggling to seek justi

Ongoing Problems Faced by Communities Affected by Nam Song and Nam Leuk Dams

Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Oct. 24, 2012 Anthony Jude, Director Energy Division, Southeast Asia Department Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Philippines Re: Nam Song and Nam Leuk Hydropower Projects, Lao PDR Dear Mr. Jude, I am writing to follow up on the implementation of the Nam Song-Nam Leuk Environmental Mitigation Plan and review missions conducted by the ADB. In March 2012, an International Rivers’ consultant conducted a site visit to eight villages affected by the Nam Song Dam and three villages affected by the Nam Leuk Dam to assess the state of the mitigation plans. In light of

HSAP Ineffective in Corrupt Sarawak Dams

Roy Adair, CEO of Hydro Tasmania and IHA Board Member, admits to lack of corruption auditing in an interview
Two companies involved in controversial Sarawak dams claim they are upholding best practice by using the HSAP, but the corruption surrounding the projects is proving otherwise.

The Salween River Basin Fact Sheet

Villagers at the Thai/Burma border gather to bless the Salween River and oppose construction of large dams.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Dam Cascades Threaten Biological and Cultural DiversityFrom its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau to its estuary in Burma, the Salween River supports over ten million people. For many decades, it was the longest free-flowing river in Southeast Asia. It sustains rich fisheries and farmlands central to the lives of many indigenous communities living along its banks. However, large dam cascades in China and Burma are being planned in complete secrecy, with no participation from affected communities and no analysis of the cumulative impacts or seismic risks of these projects.The Salween River, kno

The Salween River Basin

Friday, May 25, 2012
From its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau to its estuary in Burma, the Salween River supports over ten million people. For many decades, it was the longest free-flowing river in Southeast Asia. It sustains rich fisheries and farmlands central to the lives of many indigenous communities living along its banks. However, large dam cascades in China and Burma are being planned in complete secrecy, with no participation from affected communities and no analysis of the cumulative impacts or seismic risks of these projects.

Climate Change, Rivers and Dams: A Video Exploration

Lake Mead July 2008
This toolkit includes a lesson plan that features a 20-minute video called "Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers, which uses Google Earth to visualize what might happen to the world's major rivers when climate change and the current dam-building boom collide. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the role of dam-building in a changing global environment from a systems-level perspective, at times taking on the role of different stakeholders to understand the complexity of the problem. This toolkit includes the video, extension ideas, and links to additional resources.

Toolkit for Educators: Climate Change, Rivers and Dams

Glacial lakes in Bhutan
International Rivers has created a toolkit, Climate Change, Rivers and Dams: A Video Exploration, for educators and community leaders around the issue of dams, rivers and climate change. This toolkit includes a lesson plan that features the "Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers" 3-D Google Earth video, which uses Google Earth to visualize what might happen to the world's major rivers when climate change and the current dam-building boom collide. This toolkit also includes the video, extension ideas, and links to additional resources. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Brazilian Mining Giant Vale Voted Worst Corporation in the World

Monday, January 30, 2012
Company wins prize for leading share in the Belo Monte Dam San Francisco, CA – After 21 days of public voting, Brazilian iron-ore mining corporation Vale picked up the Public Eye Award, known as the "Nobel Prize of Shame" in the corporate world. The award was presented during the World Economic Forum in the Davos, Switzerland on Friday. The prize was created in 2000 by Switzerland's Berne Declaration and Greenpeace to recognize a company's record of environmental, social and labor violations and is selected annually through popular vote. Vale's worst corporation award

Vote for Vale as the World's Worst Corporation of 2011

Vale has a stake in the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Update: Thanks to your support, Vale has won the title of World's Worst Corporation for the 2012 Public Eye Award! Read the press release A vote for Vale is a vote against the Belo Monte DamVale – the Brazilian mining company present in 38 countries and the largest iron-ore mining corporation in the world – is one of six finalists for the Public Eye Award, which annually holds a public vote to elect the worst corporation in the world. The winner is announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It is the first time that a Brazilian company is up for the awar

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