Earlier this year, Amnesty members and supporters sent hundreds of solidarity Valentines cards and messages to Wet’suwet’en land defenders in north-western British Columbia and raised several thousand dollars for supplies and food for Gidimt’en Checkpoint. Thank you!
Your support is still needed.
Community spokespeople report that starting in February, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Coastal Gaslink increased surveillance and presence on the yintah (territory) and are going onto people’s residential properties at Coyote Camp. Residents report that the RCMP are cutting chains and locks on peoples’ gates and holding them at their detachment in Houston, BC. Spokespeople also tell Amnesty International staff that they are threatened with arrest and charges of obstruction when they tell officers to leave, that community members are pulled over and ticketed on roads into the area, and that officers are trying to prevent community organizing. Amnesty International continues to investigate.
Gidimt’en Checkpoint is calling for local people who commit to respecting the jurisdiction, leadership, and legal order of the Wet’suwet’en to become legal observers on a rotating basis.
The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) twice called on Canada to withdraw RCMP and security forces from the territory and guarantee that no force will be used against the Wet’suwet’en peoples. It also called on Canada to immediately cease the forced evictions of Wet’suwet’en peoples from their territory and halt the construction of the pipeline until all Wet’suwet’en are consulted and consent is given.
Sign the Action >> Tell Canada you support the Hereditary Chiefs and call on Premier John Horgan to respect Indigenous Rights on Wet’suwet’en territory
Learn More >> Read the Hereditary Chiefs’ submission to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on the Militarization of Indigenous Lands.
