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Could a UN treaty force mining companies to behave responsibly?
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Date: None

In June 2020, a statement signed by more than 200 organizations around the world publicly denounced transnational mining companies for ignoring the threat of the pandemic and continuing to operate as normal.

The statement, which was based on a report jointly produced by non-profit and activist groups from Europe, the US, Canada and Latin America, criticised the extraordinary measures being taken by some governments to suppress protests against mining activity, as well as attempts to push through regulatory changes in favour of the mining sector.

Transnational mining hasn’t gone into quarantine, and neither have the conflicts over how and where it operates. As in the past, activists have focused their attention on Glencore, the giant Anglo-Swiss commodities trading and mining company. The issues raised are familiar.

There is the Cerrejon thermal coal mine in Colombia – jointly owned by Glencore and two other transnational companies, BHP and Anglo American – whose expansion over the past 40 years is alleged to have caused environmental degradation and health problems for the local community.

Glencore has also been blamed for contaminating the area around Peru’s Cerro de Pasco mine, run by a local company, Volcan, in which the mining giant has a majority stake. The dangerously high levels of lead, arsenic, aluminium and manganese found in local water caused the Peruvian government to declare a health emergency in 2018 after several children fell ill with lead poisoning. In Glencore’s Porco mine in Bolivia, there are allegations of child labour and other abuses.

In November 2020, Glencore said it “works in line with international standards” and has “zero tolerance for child labour”. It added that it was “proud to be a member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the International Council on Mining and Metals”, as well as “an active participant in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative”.

So, how does all of this stack up?

Glencore is one of the world's biggest transnational companies dedicated to the production and marketing of raw materials. It has mining operations in more than 50 countries and its revenues in 2019 exceeded $215bn, five times more than Bolivia's GDP, 95% of Peru’s GDP and two-thirds of Colombia's GDP in that year.

[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/could-un-treaty-force-mining-companies-behave-responsibly/