Two indigenous Guatemalans filed a complaint with the Canadian government on Wednesday accusing mining giant Goldcorp of polluting their community.
Goldcorp's Marlin mine contaminated water supplies and damaged homes while the company harassed protestors, Maudilia Lopez Cardona and Carmen Mejia Aguilar said on behalf of the residents of San Miguel Ixtahuacan, a municipality in southwestern Guatemala.
The complaint was submitted under Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines for multinational firms requiring companies to respect the health and environment of the communities where they operate.
"They've come here to ask the government of Canada to ensure that Goldcorp respect their rights and the rights of their community," a translator said on behalf of Cardona and Aguilar.
The case was handed to the National Contact Point, a Canadian foreign affairs department committee that probes complaints from communities harmed by Canadian industries operating abroad.
The committee is tasked with offering non-binding recommendations to firms on meeting the OECD guidelines and how to best settle disputes with locals.
Goldcorp denied the accusations that its blasting at the Marlin mine caused cracks in area residents' homes, that it had discharged dirty water in local rivers or that it harassed locals.
"We have also contracted an independent third party to assess our performance on the promotion and protection of human rights in Guatemala and to recommend ways in which we can improve our performance," company spokeswoman Tanya Todd told AFP.
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