Since 2013, FI has been a co-organizer and co-convener of the “Churches and Mining” meeting in Latin America, a gathering that seeks to strengthen the coordination between active ecclesial communities in Latin America, and to promote spaces for dialogue between people on the ground and the hierarchy of the churches around the topic of mining.  

This year, the meeting was held in Brasilia, Brazil, from December 2nd to December 5th and gathered 85 people from various Christian denominations who are committed to the situation of mining and its effects on indigenous people, the poor, and the marginalised as well as its effects on the environment.  Participants were both from lay and religious backgrounds. 

Participating in this churches and mining network has proven to be an efficient way for FI to connect its mission at the UN both to different individual activists, communities, and groups participating in the process and to the collective process of grassroots analysis and priority setting. The Church and Mining group has now twice ratified its specific interest in working with FI, together with other groups doing international advocacy. FI’s ongoing connection to this group has shaped its understanding of the problem of extractivism in the region from the perspective of the most affected communities and allowed it to provide urgent and ongoing advocacy support to several groups.  The final declaration of the meeting asserted the group’s commitment to: “continue promoting international networks for dialogue, advocacy, and denouncing violations, in coordination with other religious actors such as: Franciscans International, VIVAT International, Mercy International, CIDSE, the Pan-Amazonic Ecclesiastic Network, and the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace….” The group continues to see the value in international advocacy and lamentation for its grassroots struggles and FI is a unique partner among the international observers because of its human-rights focus.

Of the many common objectives identified, a few mentioned included sensitizing society and churches about the realities lived; facilitating communication in order to share widely people´s experiences; opening up bridges between the Church and Mining Group and everyone else (churches, governments). In all these objectives there is a deep desire and need to be heard and recognized. 

Meetings like these are vital for FI: by listening to these grassroots actors, FI staff learns firsthand about issues and struggles and allows them to be on the look-out for when opportunities arise at the UN to connect those people on the ground with an outlet to be heard internationally.  

See the gathering’s Final Statement here!