Corporate courts are holding Armenia to ransom

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Hi John,

Jersey-registered mining firm Lydian are using corporate courts to hold Armenia to ransom. Lydian have threatened that if the Armenian government do not forcefully remove protesters blocking the toxic Amulsar gold mine, then they will be sued in a corporate court for $2 billion.

So, last week, to mark the start of our new campaign against Lydian’s bullying, we took a clear message to their London HQ.

In solidarity with the people of Armenia, please email Lydian calling on them to drop their toxic attack on Armenia’s democracy.

Take action

The story so far

For the people of Armenia, new hope for democracy came in April 2018’s ‘Velvet Revolution’, when mass peaceful protests brought down 30 years of autocratic rule. But Armenia’s struggle for democracy now faces a new threat: corporate courts – secret tribunals that allow foreign investors to sue governments for policies that could affect their profits.

Galvanised by the revolution, communities surrounding the Amulsar mine in the southern Armenian mountains decided to stand up to protect their land, water and livelihoods. Locals have been blockading Lydian’s toxic mine for the past year, stopping all construction and preventing any gold from being extracted.

But corporate courts offer Lydian a means of undermining this inspiring local resistance. Lydian want the blockade removed as soon as possible. That’s why they’re threatening a $2 billion corporate courts lawsuit, which could see the government forced to side with powerful investors over its people.

Stop corporate courts

Corporations should not be allowed to hold governments to ransom in this way.

Take action now to demand that Lydian drop the threat of corporate courts and give up on their plans for toxic mining.

The open-cast gold mine proposed by Lydian at Amulsar is situated close to Lake Sevan, Armenia’s most important source of freshwater. If this mine gets the go-ahead, experts have warned that the country’s water supply would be endangered. Meanwhile, local jobs in farming and tourism are incompatible with this polluting project.

For the communities surrounding Amulsar, everything is on the line. We have to stand with them and speak out against Lydian’s corporate courts bullying.

Email Lydian CEO

In solidarity,

James Angel
Campaigner at Global Justice Now

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