Please leave this field empty
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
  • About
  • Problems
  • Campaigns
  • Impacts
  • Research
  • Contact
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
  • facebook
  • twitter
Please leave this field empty
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
$
Menu
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Search
Please leave this field empty
  • facebook
  • twitter

Activists Speak Out on Charges Against Bolivian Leaders Critical of Big Dam Projects

Pablo Solón and Rafael Archondo, both vocal opponents of two hydroelectric projects in Bolivia, are facing four years imprisonment.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-plus
  • envelope

We all need safe food and clean water.

Donate
07.12.17

Washington, D.C. – Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the U.S. advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, sent a letter today to Bolivian President Evo Morales to express their concern over the Bolivian government’s prosecution of Pablo Solón and Rafael Archondo, who are reportedly facing charges related to their tenure as Bolivian ambassadors to the United Nations. Both Solón and Archondo have been vocal opponents of two hydroelectric projects currently under development in the country.

“We both know and have worked with Solón and Archondo in their UN capacity, and can assure you they were greatly respected internationally. As Senior Advisor on Water to Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, the 63rd President of the UN General Assembly, I (Maude) worked very closely both with you, President Morales, and Pablo Solón to successfully obtain a UN General Assembly resolution guaranteeing the human right to water and sanitation. I believe this would not have happened without Solón’s leadership,” says the letter.

Focus on the Global South reports that Solón and Archondo are facing four years imprisonment on charges that as UN ambassador, Solón illegally appointed Archondo and that Archondo committed the crime of “prolonging functions.” Both the accused have publicly responded showing that Archondo was appointed by the President of Bolivia as Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN and that he did not prolong in his functions. Solón has stated that the charges come as no surprise, given his criticism of the two projects.

“We are wondering, as are many others, if the charges have more to do with the opposition these activists have to the two proposed dams, El Bala and El Chapete in the Amazonian region, about which we have grave concerns,” wrote Barlow and Hauter in the letter. “We are writing to beseech you to drop these charges against two highly respected environmentalists, academics and journalists.”

###

Contact:

Marcela Olivera, Latin America Coordinator, Food & Water Watch, [email protected]

Tel: 1-805-895-6480 (U.S.); +591 722 20216 (Bolivia)

Maude Barlow, Chairperson, Council of Canadians, [email protected]

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Monsanto's Roundup is a "probable human carcinogen." We need to ban it!

Get the latest on your food and water with news, research and urgent actions.

Please leave this field empty

Latest News

  • Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

    Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

  • Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

    Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

  • Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

    Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

See More News & Opinions

For Media: See our latest press releases and statements

Food & Water Insights

Looking for more insights and our latest research?

Visit our policy & research library
  • Renewable Natural Gas: Same Ol' Climate-Polluting Methane, Cleaner-Sounding Name

  • The Case to Ban Fracking on Federal Lands

  • Dangerously Deep: Fracking’s Threat to Human Health

Fracking activist with stickersFracking activist in hatLegal team loves family farmsFood & Water Watch organizer protecting your food

Work locally, make a difference.

Get active in your community.

Food & Water Impact

  • Victories
  • Stories
  • Facts
  • Trump, Here's a Better Use for $25 Billion

  • Here's How We're Going to Build the Clean Energy Revolution

  • How a California Activist Learned to Think Locally

Keep drinking water safe and affordable for everyone.

Take Action
food & water watch logo
en Español

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

Food & Water Watch is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Food & Water Action is a 501(c)4 organization.

Food & Water Watch Headquarters

1616 P Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Main: 202.683.2500

Contact your regional office.

Work with us: See all job openings

  • Problems
    • Broken Democracy
    • Climate Change & Environment
    • Corporate Control of Food
    • Corporate Control of Water
    • Factory Farming & Food Safety
    • Fracking
    • GMOs
    • Global Trade
    • Pollution Trading
  • Solutions
    • Advocate Fair Policies
    • Legal Action
    • Organizing for Change
    • Research & Policy Analysis
  • Our Impact
    • Facts
    • Stories
    • Victories
  • Take Action
    • Get Active Where You Live
    • Organizing Tools
    • Find an Event
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Live Healthy
    • Donate
  • Give
    • Give Now
    • Give Monthly
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Membership Options
    • Fundraise
    • Workplace Giving
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways to Give
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Learn more about Food & Water Action www.foodandwateraction.org.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • 2021 © Food & Water Watch
  • www.foodandwaterwatch.org
  • Terms of Service
  • Data Usage Policy