July 16-29, 2008: The San Lucas Mountains in southern Bolívar house the most valuable and largely unexploited gold reserve in the Americas. More than 30,000 people depend on small-scale mining for a living. Long-recognized as a centre for guerrilla activity, paramilitaries began to move into the area in the last decade.

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Today, the Colombian Armed Forces are increasingly committing human rights violations, as they "secure" the zone for multinational investment, including that by Canada's Kinross Gold Corporation (BEMA), which works in conjunction with the multinational Anglo Gold Ashanti. In order to reclaim their rights, small miners have organized themselves and their communities to demand respect from armed actors and the State. Delegates will have the opportunity to meet with Colombian mining, human rights and social justice organizers in both Bogotá and Barrancabermeja, where CPT's full-time Team has been based since 2001, as well as with rural communities and their leaders in southern Bolívar's mining zone.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: US $1800 / $2200 Canadian, which includes round-trip airfare.