Union of Latin American Women (ULAM)

Through the Union of Latin American Women (ULAM) – a regional network of women defenders – LAMMP aims to support and empower women to become agents for social change in their campaign for socially and environmentally responsible mining.

Through the Network, LAMMP encourages capacity building, experience sharing and the development of working partnerships amoung members of the Network.

LAMMP provides critical support to Network members and their campaigns for free prior informed consent, human rights, sustainable development, transparency, accountability and gender mainstreaming in mining policy development and practice.

The challenge for the Network lies not just in how to take advantage of women’s interest in development, advocacy and campaigning but also in how to transform it into an opportunity to empower women, promote gender equality and reinvigorate democracy.

ULAM provides grassroot activists working on their own with personal support and a space for reflection. A platform from which, collectively, women are able to challenge and advocate for their right to participate in decisions which affect their lives and communities. This support is vital as women are often excluded from meaningful participation in mining policy development and are amoung the most vulnerable and marginalised groups affected by the extractive industry.

Ultimately ULAM aims to have a significant influence on the development of regional, national and local strategies that address women’s specific concerns in relation to mining policy and practice.

Objectives

(1) Provision of a platform from where, collectively, women will be able to (a) influence decisions and advocate for their democratic rights to participate in development decisions (b) produce a nurturing environment for the exchange of experiences and understanding of global development policies;

(2) Build women’s groups’ capacity to participate in development issues through the provision of personal and specialist training, financial backing and support for national, regional and international lobbying campaigns;

(3) Influence government mining policies with a view to improve legislation, regulation and monitoring in order to ensure mining industry practices uphold the principles of socially and environmentally responsible development and corporate social responsibility outlined in the UN Global Compact and promote gender mainstreaming in the industry;

(4) Generate research that informs debate and facilitates the development of a gender perspective as a conceptual tool that demonstrates (a) how mining benefits from cultural and socio-economic barriers that prevent women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes and the definition of the terms of development for their communities; (b) how mining has gender specific impacts and generates specific concerns for women; and (c) how in the context of global policies, irresponsible mining is contributing to perpetuate these inequalities, thus deepening women’s poverty.

Together with partner organisations LAMMP has developed a coordinated strategy that aims to respond to the many and complex needs of women challenging mining developments. This is achieved through the use of a bottom-up approach that encourages women to share and document personal experiences of activism and use this information as a tool for learning and empowerment.

This includes working on policy issues and strengthening women’s groups’ capacity to develop expertise and confidence in their knowledge and leadership skills. The Network further enhances the capacity of both women and activists to respond to threats to their safety and increase public awareness of their campaign.