Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) recently explained in written answers in the House of Commons (16-01-06) that the Department for International Development (DFID) provided the above bilateral assistance to Guatemala and other Latin American countries. The figures show that bilateral, multilateral and regional assistance to Guatemala has dropped over the last eight years.

Gareth Thomas has also recently confirmed (11-01-06) that "the Department for International Development is contributing €1 million through its share of the European Commission's (EC) 2004–07 project to strengthen the ability of the Guatemalan Indigenous Women's Ombudsman (Defensoria de la Mujer Indigena) to address the high levels of exclusion and violence suffered by poor indigenous rural women. The Ombudsman is part of the Guatemala Presidential Commission of Human Rights. The UK provides 18 per cent. of the funding of EC programmes to Guatemala."

Marlin Mine in Guatemala  PHOTO: Communities, Ecology and Mining in Guatemala

Glamis Gold Ltd. announced (18-01-2006) that it produced 434,010 ounces of gold in 2005, an increase of 85 percent compared to 234,433 ounces in 2004. Unaudited total cash costs in 2005 were $195 per ounce of gold produced.

The 2005 results were driven by a strong first year of commercial production at El Sauzal Mine in Mexico (191,586 ounces in 2005) -which exceeded plan by 13 percent as well as strong performance at Marigold Mine in Nevada (137,116 ounces in 2005).

Marlin Mine in Guatemala commenced commercial production in late 2005 and concluded a successful year by contributing nearly 24,000 ounces of gold to the Company's total production.

You can find out more information about the fight against Glamis's exploitation of Guatemala's natural resources at this new website which is an independent repository of information on mining in Guatemala.

It is maintained through a partnership of organisations Misereor, Friends of the Earth International, Halifax Initiative Coalition, Bank Information Center, Social Justice Committee, Friends of the Earth Canada, Madre Selva, The Social Justice Committee, KAIROS - Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives , MiningWatch Canada

Friends of the Earth USA wrote a brief report on Glamis in May 2005.