Open Letter Urges Preservation of El Salvador’s Historic Ban on Metals Mining
San Salvador and worldwide – On December 1, 153 prominent faith organizations from 25 countries released a powerful letter that urges preservation of El Salvador’s historic 2017 metals mining ban. The ban was overturned in 2024 under orders of Salvadoran President, Nayib Bukele.
The full list of signatories represents local, regional, and national expressions of faith communities, denominations, and related agencies from countries and regions around the world, including Asia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, the Middle East, Spain, the United States, and Zambia, among others.
In the letter, signatories express steadfast support for the people of El Salvador and their church institutions and leaders who are struggling to maintain their country’s historic ban on metal mining so all Salvadorans can continue to enjoy the right to clean water.
“Salvadoran church leaders remind us that access to water is a fundamental human right and that clean water is not a commodity, but a shared inheritance entrusted to all people by God. Ending the mining ban fuels egregious rights violations against those organizing to protect their water and land from destruction … We join their call that the Government of El Salvador not threaten, stigmatize or persecute people and organizations that are ‘carrying out their duties’ to protect water, land and communities and support their call for the immediate dropping of charges against water defenders and human rights lawyers,” the letter reads.
El Salvador faces multiple challenges and environmental threats that would be exacerbated by large-scale industrial mining. On Mar. 29, 2017, El Salvador’s legislature voted unanimously to prohibit all metals mining in order to save its rivers and water. That momentous decision was the result of powerful sustained organizing by ordinary community members in El Salvador and supported by communities around the world. The faith community played a huge role in that historic victory to defend water and land resources.
“El Salvador cannot mine its way to clean water, healthy communities, and sustainable livelihoods. It is a contradiction in terms,” warn the authors of “Water Over Gold: 15 Reasons Why El Salvador Should Again Reject Gold Mining,” which lays out all the reasons why Salvadorans supported the historic metals mining ban.
“The Salvadoran precautionary approach banning metal mining is essential to protect drinking water and aquatic ecosystems, given the irreparable damage that has been done by irresponsible mining around the world,” says Professor Susan Lea Smith of the Ecumenical Water Network of the World Council of Churches. “El Salvador had made a difficult but wise choice in banning metal mining. Clean water is a gift from God, and so, for the sake of clean water and the rest of Creation, we work together for the common good. We pray that they will not abandon their determination to prevent heavy metal pollution from mining.”
“Through this declaration, faith communities from around the world have affirmed their solidarity with faith leaders in El Salvador as they carry out their duty to protect water as a sacred inherited trust, a human right meant to be shared by all,” said the Rev. Dr. Japhet Ndhlovu, Executive Minister for the Church in the Mission Unit of The United Church of Canada.
President Nayib Bukele’s reversal of the metals mining ban aggravates environmental risks already posed by his extractive economic agenda and will increase El Salvador’s risk of environmental contamination, human rights violations, and public health concerns, and will have an adverse economic impact on important industries like agriculture and tourism.
After the announcement in 2024 of Bukele’s intent to reverse the mining ban, the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador called upon the president not to lift the country’s ban on gold mining. The former and current Archbishops of San Salvador, Fernando Sáenz Lacalle and José Luis Escobar Alas, both spoke eloquently about the dangers of cyanide in mining and advocated for the prohibition of mining. Archbishop Escobar Alas, the Bishop’s Conference of El Salvador, and the Central American Bishops Conference have all expressed concerns about Bukele’s intention to revert the mining prohibition.
The publication of this letter will come a day before Salvadorans and their international allies mark the solemn occasion of the 45th anniversary of the horrific murder of three nuns and a lay worker who were killed in El Salvador by members of the National Guard on December 2, 1980.
Read the full letter: https://ips-dc.org/statement-from-faith-organizations-in-25-countries-in-support-of-the-salvadoran-people-and-their-religious-leaders-and-institutions-ban-on-metals-mining/
Watch a powerful video of prominent faith leaders reading the open letter and speaking in support of Salvadoran communities fighting to preserve clean water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-G5loLUTss&t=115s
The signatories will hold a virtual press conference highlighting the release of the letter on Monday, December 1 at 1 PM El Salvador time/ 2 PM EST. Click here to register to attend.
Press contacts:
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies, johnc@ips-dc.org
Gordon Whitman, Faith in Action, gwhitman@faithinaction.org
Christie Neufeldt, The United Church of Canada, cneufeldt@united-church.ca
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