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	El Salvador takes historic step with national ban on mining projects by Ivan Morales Oxfam El Salvador   Oxfam has hailed the passing of a law banning metallic mining by the Salvadoran government. The law comes after years of violence and social tensions around mining in the country and strong opposition to mining from local communities, civil society organizations, the Catholic Church and more than 77% of the country’s population, according to a recent poll.   Oxfam’s El Salvador Country Director Ivan Morales said: “This is an historic day for El Salvador and our right to decide our future. The voice of the people has been heard. Mining is not an appropriate way to reduce poverty and inequality in this country. It would only exacerbate the social conflict and level of water contamination we already have.”   El Salvador is Central America’s smallest and most densely populated country. Ninety percent of its surface water is polluted, according to the country’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. For these reasons local activists called on the government to ban mining as it can further intensify water and land pollution.   In October 2016, the government won a favorable ruling after seven years of litigation over a claim against it by Australian mining company OceanaGold, which sought over $300 million for the government’s refusal to approve the company’s mining permit because it failed to meet all requirements. That ruling validated the government’s decision to withhold a mining permit and paved the way for today’s action by the Salvadoran congress, so that El Salvador never again has to face such lawsuits for exercising its right to protect its population from adverse impacts of mining.   Tensions around the development of mining in the country have resulted in threats, violence and even murder, with three anti-mining activists killed in recent years. Oxfam has supported Salvadoran civil society organizations and has worked to raise awareness of the OceanaGold case with members of the US Congress, who have expressed concerns about mining’s potential impacts in the country.   “This is an important precedent for communities around the world that are impacted by mining,” said Keith Slack, Oxfam’s Extractive Industries Global Program Director. “Governments and the mining industry need to recognize that mining is not inevitable and that the costs and benefits need to be weighed carefully.”   Oxfam is calling on mining companies operating in El Salvador, including OceanaGold, to withdraw from the country, and avoid any action that might incite violence.   “It’s important now that companies accept this decision and act responsibly. International donors, in particular the US, should deepen their support for El Salvador’s efforts to develop sustainable economic alternatives to mining," added Vicki Gass, Oxfam’s Senior Policy Advisor for Central America. Visit the related web page
	Strong and effective racial vilification laws needed to stop the spread of racial hatred by Federation of Ethnic Community Councils, agencies Australia   Mar. 30, 2017   Proposed changes to Racial Discrimination Act defeated in Senate. (ABC News)   A late-night debate in the Australian Senate on proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act has been defeated by the Labor Opposition, the Greens, with the support of independent crossbenchers.   The Coalition Government had wanted to replace the words "insult", "offend" and "humiliate" in section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act with the term "harass".   On Thursday evening it became apparent the Government did not have the numbers to pass the changes. It means the wording of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act will not change.   March 21, 2017   Changes to race hate speech laws send wrong message to community, by Hugh de Kretser.   Proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act unveiled today by the Australian Government are unnecessary and risk encouraging racist hate speech in the community.   The Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, said the Government has its priorities wrong.   ''Attempting to water-down Australia’s anti hate speech laws sends a troubling message to the community. It says this Government thinks the ability to say racially offensive, insulting and humiliating things is more of a priority than the pressing need to combat racism at every turn,'' said Mr de Kretser.   The Government’s decision to introduce legislation into Parliament was announced on Harmony Day – a day of celebration of cultural diversity which coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.   The proposals would see ‘offend’, ‘insult’ and ‘humiliate’ removed from section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act and replaced with ‘harass’.   Instead of combatting the spread of racism, Mr de Kretser said the Government was trying to fix a problem that does not exist.   “We just had a parliamentary inquiry into this issue. The inquiry’s report did not say the laws should be changed - it found the laws were consistent with fundamental rights and freedoms,” said Mr de Kretser.   Mr de Kretser said by signing up to the UN’s treaty on eliminating racial discrimination, Australia had committed to pursue positive steps to stop racial discrimination.   “The current laws strike a healthy balance between fundamental rights to free speech and freedom from racism. It’s hard to say how the courts would interpret these changes, but there’s little to be gained by essentially telling bigots that the Government thinks they should be able to say more racist things,” said Mr de Kretser.   The Government’s bill would also change in the objective standard against which harass and intimidate are judged – from a ''reasonable member of the relevant group'' to ''the reasonable member of the Australian community''.   “It’s critical to consider how racism impacts on the people subjected to it. We can’t expect a middle class white man, for example, to understand how an Aboriginal person experiences racism. The existing objective standard should be retained,” said Mr de Kretser.   The Government has also put forward a number of amendments to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s complaints process, which will affect people making complaints about other types of discrimination, including sex, age and disability discrimination.   “The Commission plays a critical role in making sure vulnerable people have somewhere to turn when they experience discrimination. It provides a low-cost, efficient and informal way to resolve complaints. Changes that make the process more efficient are welcome, but any proposals that would create a barrier to accessing justice should be opposed,” said Mr de Kretser. http://bit.ly/2mO4qcQ   Mar. 2017   Ethnic groups slam Turnbull government''s proposed changes Race Discrimination Laws. (Fairfax News)   The Turnbull government''s proposed changes to Australia''s race-hate laws risk opening the floodgates on racism and creating legal confusion, ethnic and cultural groups have warned.   Race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane led the charge against the "extremely disappointing" changes, which he said would signal that racism was socially acceptable.   "I still don''t understand what it is that people want to say that they currently are not already allowed to say," he told Fairfax Media. "It signals to people that it''s acceptable to racially offend, insult, and humiliate others."   Dr Soutphommasane said the deletion of "insult", "offend" and "humiliate" and the introduction of a new term, "harass", would create confusion and lead to "more litigation, not less" because it would render irrelevant 20 years of case law.   "We don''t know what the meaning of that word will be until courts consider it," he said. "This is not speculation, this is based on the history of how the laws operated."   Peter Wertheim, director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said Mr Turnbull was incorrect to assert the new laws would better protect minorities from racial discrimination.   He said there would be a "concerted effort" from cultural groups to convince crossbench senators to block the proposed changes.   "It''s not a big deal for most people, but for members of minority groups who have been on the receiving end of some very ugly forms of racial discrimination … it could be very significant," he said. "I think it could be a vote-changing issue federally."   Multicultural groups also reacted with disappointment. A letter co-signed by peak groups that form the Coalition to Advance Multiculturism, described the decision as "utterly shameful and at odds with the principles of multicultural Australia".   "We will oppose this latest attempt to amend Section 18C with all the energy and resources at our collective disposal," the letter, released within hours of the government''s announcement, read.   "We regard the argument in favour of weakening the legislation to be without substance. There is no evidence to suggest that the existing legislation impedes freedom of speech. If the government was genuine about freedom of speech, why the deafening silence on the many other pieces and legislation and areas of policy which severely restrict freedom of speech and other civil liberties?   "Racial and religious vilification violates the dignity of Australians, inhibits their ability to participate in Australian communal life, and severely damages the social fabric, which is the indispensable bedrock on which are built our freedoms and civil liberties."   President of the Chinese Australian Forum Kenrick Cheah said the group planned on making the amendments an election issue.   "Look at the demographics of Sydney, for example – there are a lot of seats out there which have very vocal multicultural communities," he said.   "I don''t think any multicultural communities have stood up for the changes – especially in marginal seats like Reid, Banks etc where, it is quite important that either side harness the multicultural vote – I can''t see how this is going to help anyone get votes from those communities."   Randa Kattan, the Arab Council Australia CEO, said the government was sending a "dangerous signal that it is OK to insult somebody" to a community "that faces the brunt of racism almost on a daily basis, if not on a minute-by-minute basis".   "This is actually a slap in the face to all communities who are facing racism out there, who are feeling, who are at the receiving end of daily harassment," she said.   "We only have to say something and you only have to watch social media to see how much hatred there is out there, so for the government, the highest power to come out and start talking about watering down an act that protects people on something they can''t change in themselves - they can''t change their race, they can''t change their ethnicity, they can''t change who they are - that is extremely dangerous and extremely problematic."   http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/22/legally-practically-and-morally-section-18c-of-the-racial-discrimination-act-must-stay http://bit.ly/2o30AgN   Dec. 2016   The Australian Government must maintain strong and effective laws against racial hatred, Aboriginal, ethnic and human rights organisations said today in a joint letter that responds to the inquiry into the racial vilification protections in the Racial Discrimination Act.   The release of the letter coincides with a meeting in Melbourne today between the UN expert on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, and Aboriginal, ethnic and human rights organisations.   Joe Caputo, Chair of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia said, “While Australia is a proudly multicultural nation, sadly the evidence shows that more and more people are experiencing discrimination.”   “The Government should be doing everything it can to fight racism and hate speech in our community. At this time more than ever, it must send a strong message that the protection of vulnerable minority groups from racial vilification is a priority,” Mr Caputo added.   The letter emphasises the importance of the racial vilification laws in the Racial Discrimination Act in preventing the serious harm caused by racism.   Wayne Muir, Co-Chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, said, “For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia, racism is an everyday experience, with serious impacts on physical and mental health.”   “The current racial vilification laws help us build an Australia that we can be proud of – one that is free from racism, proud of diversity and celebrates the things that make us different. Weakening the law will only take us backwards,” Mr Muir added.   Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, said, “We need strong and effective racial vilification laws to stop the spread of racial hatred and discrimination in the community. Weakening these laws would give a green light to bigotry.”   Mr de Kretser added, “Our current Federal racial vilification laws have been interpreted sensibly by the courts. They contain a broad defence that strikes the right balance between freedom of speech and freedom from vilification. We must not weaken them.”   The open letter also supports the Australian Human Rights Commission’s efficient mediation process for resolving complaints.   “The Commission provides a low-cost, informal way to resolve discrimination and vilification complaints. The majority of complaints that go to mediation are resolved. Only a handful go to court each year,” said Mr de Kretser.   The letter is supported by leading organisations and peak bodies including the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT, Amnesty International, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia, Get Up!, Human Rights Law Centre, Lowitja Institute, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Refugee Council of Australia, Oxfam Australia and the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency.   http://bit.ly/2gU7fum http://www.handsoff18c.org/ Visit the related web page
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