South Africa: Mining gathering must tackle human rights failures

Investors attending the biggest mining gathering in Africa must ask tough questions about mining companies’ compliance with the terms of their operating licenses, including their failure to ensure decent living conditions of communities around their mining operations, Amnesty International and the Economic Justice Network said today as the meeting opened.

The Mining Indaba, is taking place between 6 and 9 February in Cape Town, with more than six thousand delegates including governments and investors gathering to discuss sustainable mining, among other things.

“Global mining companies are ignoring legally binding Social Labour Plans and are getting away with major human rights abuses. Irresponsible mining is not sustainable,” said Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa.

Amnesty International will participate in the 2017 Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI), also held in Cape Town between 6 and 9 February, bringing together more than 400 activists, members of civil society and mining- affected community members.

“Mining without legal and human rights compliance can only mean suffering for mine workers and their communities. This gathering is an opportunity for investors to hold egregious offenders to account,” said Mandla Hadebe, from the Economic Justice Network

Background

In August 2016, Amnesty International released a report containing evidence of how Lonmin’s workforce at its platinum mine in Marikana, South Africa, are still living in squalor in spite of legally binding commitments made by the company to build 5,500 new houses in 2006.

The mining company’s response to the organisation’s findings can be found as annexed in the above report or by clicking here.

The AMI will be held in Cape Town between 6 and 9 February 2017 at the Double tree by the Hilton.

It will be held under the theme “Making natural resources work for the people: Domestication of the African Mining Vision”.