Three human rights groups today filed a complaint with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) detailing environmental and human rights harms at Glencore’s Badila oil operations in Chad. Glencore is one of the world’s largest natural resource companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The filing marks the first time that Glencore is facing an OECD complaint in the UK.
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RAID’s research is based on over 100 interviews with local residents, members of local civil society, local authorities, medical staff, journalists and former security personnel employed at Williamson Mine. Our research raises serious human rights concerns. We contacted Petra Diamonds on 29 August to share our concerns and asked for responses to a series of questions. We hope to have further meetings with the company and will shortly be publishing a full report detailing our findings.
The initial claim was issued in the British High Court in February 2020 on behalf of seven human rights victims against Barrick Tz Limited, formerly known as Acacia Mining, of which Barrick was the majority shareholder, and its Tanzanian subsidiary.
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) should suspend gold refiner MMTC-PAMP for its failure to act over human rights abuses at the North Mara gold mine in Tanzania, UK corporate watchdog RAID said today. MMTC-PAMP, part of the Swiss-based MKS PAMP Group, said in a statement released on 3 July that it would continue to source gold from Barrick’s problematic mine following an “independent assessment” of its supply chain.
The “Congo is Not for Sale” campaign calls on the justice system of the Democratic Republic of Congo to disclose the results of an investigation opened at the end of 2019 into state copper company, Gécamines, and to announce the legal measures it intends to take to prevent a payment from Glencore to Gécamines entering into the pockets of billionaire Dan Gertler, who is subject to sanctions imposed by the United States.
Last week, RAID Director Anneke VanWoudenberg spoke to BBC World Service about working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic at copper & cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (audio excerpt below). This follows letter of concern to mining companies from rights groups, which you can read in full here and in French here.
(Lubumbashi, June 11, 2020) – Multinational copper and cobalt mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo should take immediate steps to protect the rights of thousands of Congolese workers’ during the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of 11 international and Congolese human rights groups said today in a letter to 13 mining companies.
Twelve human rights and environmental groups today raised serious concerns about Glencore’s newly published Sustainability Report, saying it lacks credibility, ahead of the company’s Annual General Meeting on 2 June.
Identifying and compensating overseas victims of corruption is a major challenge that prosecutors have yet to adequately address. As Jeffrey Kaplan recently discussed in a post for the FCPA Blog, when corruption is treated as victimless, it may allow those involved in the crime to “feel comfortable with their participation.”
Top accounting firms are increasingly under scrutiny for being too cosy with their clients and acting as “enablers” of financial misconduct. A recent ground-breaking judgment issued on April 17th by the British High Court against “Big Four” accounting firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young) bolsters such criticism. EY was found liable for covering up evidence of money laundering and forcing out a whistleblower. It was ordered to pay approximately US$11 million in damages.