{"id":4069,"date":"2026-05-28T17:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/?p=4069"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:06:13","slug":"investor-nuns-warn-of-gm-investment-risk-because-of-indigenous-rights-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/investor-nuns-warn-of-gm-investment-risk-because-of-indigenous-rights-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Investor nuns warn of GM investment risk because of Indigenous Rights violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

General Motors will face a shareholder resolution<\/a> by investor nuns at its annual general meeting on June 2 over concerns of potential Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations, including at a lithium mine it partly owns at Thacker Pass in Nevada (see photos here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The resolution by the New Jersey-based Sisters of St Joseph of Peace calls on GM to publish a report outlining the effectiveness of its policies and practices on Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights, as set out by United Nations\u2019 international standard.<\/p>\n

In a further update<\/a> to GM investors, the Sisters warn of the legal, operational and reputational risk to the automaker regarding the violation of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights. These risks are linked to \u201ccostly project delays, community protests, regulatory interventions, and loss of company personnel\u201d as well as \u201ccredit downgrades, consumer backlash, loss of public trust, strained supplier relationships\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Sisters outline environmental and social impact at the Thacker Pass lithium mine, a joint venture between Lithium Americas and GM giving it an exclusive 20-year offtake agreement for its electric vehicle batteries. The Bureau of Land Management failed to obtain the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples before approving permits for the Thacker Pass Mine, yet GM invested in the project anyway, the Sisters contend. Indigenous leaders are concerned about the desecration of land linked to a 1865 massacre of Indigenous people by US federal soldiers and impacts on community health and access to water, given the high volumes of water required to produce lithium.<\/p>\n

The resolution states: \u201cGM states it respects Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights and requires its suppliers to do so. However, it neither explains its processes for assessing IPs\u2019 rights risk, nor reports on their effectiveness.\u201d The resolution will be presented on behalf of the Sisters by a representative of the People of Red Mountain, a committee of traditional knowledge-keepers and descendants of the McDermitt Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock Tribes.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union last year showed the federal permitting process involved minimal contact with the Tribes and lasted less than a year before the project was approved, a contrast to the over 3-year average it takes to approve new mining projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A recent report<\/a> by Amnesty International concludes that the mine is proceeding without tribal consent and that in correspondence with GM, \u201cthe company did not indicate that it had assessed whether FPIC was obtained, or taken any steps to address the absence of consent, falling short of due diligence expectations under international standards\u201d. The report adds that construction of the mine and fencing \u201chave already restricted Indigenous Peoples\u2019 access to parts of their ancestral lands\u201d.<\/p>\n

GM has been in the spotlight recently following an international automakers rankings on clean supply chains that showed it had slipped down because of its failure to publish a sustainability report or any other evidence on how it is actually enforcing its human rights policies and commitments. The Lead The Charge Leaderboard<\/a> said GM \u201ccontinues to perform poorly on Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights and workers\u2019 rights in the supply chain. Despite having commitments in these areas, the company fails to disclose tangible evidence of how they are being effectively operationalized and enforced in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shareholder resolution also highlights recent reports raising concerns that GM may be sourcing nickel from mines in Indonesia that have violated Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights, including widespread marine pollution, deforestation and heavy metal contamination.<\/p>\n

Sister Susan Francois, treasurer of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace<\/b><\/p>\n

“As investors concerned about the material impact on shareholder value, we believe companies have a responsibility to deliberately identify and meaningfully address those risks. As people of faith, we also believe a business strategy should never come at the expense of human rights, dignity, or self-determination. This proposal asks General Motors to demonstrate whether its policies are truly effective in upholding internationally recognized human rights standards, including respect for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights.” –\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investor Advocates for Social Justice<\/b><\/a> Program Director Aaron Acosta,\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

“GM’s decision to invest in the Thacker Pass lithium mine, despite reported violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, suggests one of two conclusions: either GM made the investment knowing the mine violated Indigenous Peoples’ rights, or it should have known, but failed to realize this. In either case, it appears to reflect an ineffective operationalization of its own commitments to respect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. Investors deserve to know why GM’s practices seem to contradict its own policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

SIRGE Coalition<\/b><\/a> Executive Director Galina Angarova:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cGeneral Motors\u2019 association with projects where Indigenous Peoples report the absence of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) undermines the credibility of the company\u2019s stated human rights commitments. Where Indigenous communities continue to raise concerns about lack of consent, threats to sacred sites, and restricted access to ancestral lands, companies have a responsibility to prevent and address harm from the outset. The situation at Thacker Pass illustrates widening gaps between corporate policies and operational reality. As investor pressure grows, GM must now demonstrate that its investments and supply chain decisions are not contributing to the continuation of the extractive practices that Indigenous Peoples have resisted for generations.\u201d –\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vuyisile Ncube <\/b>Earthworks<\/b><\/a> Lead Corporate Campaigner<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Indigenous Peoples say that General Motors is violating their rights, it is not enough for the company to point out its policies and due diligence process. Policies and processes are not ends in themselves. The point is making sure Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights are respected. GM needs to uphold that standard.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

General Motors will face a shareholder resolution by investor nuns at its annual general meeting on June 2 over concerns of potential Indigenous Peoples’ rights violations, including at a lithium…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4071,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4069\/revisions\/4071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ko\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}