Bougainville communities welcome acceptance of human rights complaint against Rio Tinto
Residents of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have welcomed a decision by the Australian Government to accept a human rights complaint against mining giant Rio Tinto for investigation and conciliation.
The complaint, on behalf of 156 Bougainville residents, filed by the Human Rights Law Centre, alleges environmental and human rights violations caused by Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine on the island.
Residents have reported that vast quantities of waste left by the copper and gold mine are poisoning their water sources, flooding their lands and sacred sites and causing a range of health problems.
“We are pleased that the complaint has been accepted for investigation”, said Theonila Roka-Matbob, one of the complainants and MP for the Ioro constituency, where the mine is located, “The communities in my area have been living in a terrible situation for a long time now. We hope that Rio Tinto will now commit to action to address the urgent problems our people are facing.”
The Panguna mine was majority-owned by the British-Australian mining giant for forty-five years, but in 2016, Rio Tinto divested from the mine.
An estimated 12-14,000 people live downstream of the mine along the Jaba-Kawerong river valley.
The complaint, filed with the Australian OECD National Contact Point (AusNCP) in the Department of Treasury, alleges that Rio Tinto’s failure to clean up the billion tonnes of waste pollution left by the mine and mitigate the risks it poses to these communities breaches human rights and environmental standards set out in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, a leading international standard on responsible business conduct.
Following the filing of the complaint in September, Rio Tinto released a public statement committing to entering into discussions with the communities that filed the complaint along with other relevant stakeholders such as the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
The AusNCP yesterday formally accepted the complaint which means that those discussions can now begin through a facilitated conciliation process.
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director: 0419 100 519
Keren Adams, Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said it was essential that discussions result in a clear pathway towards clean-up and remediation of the areas impacted by the mine.
“People in villages downstream of the mine are living in a deteriorating, highly dangerous situation. We welcome Rio’s public commitment to finally sit down with them but we have yet to see what meaningful action the company is prepared to take. Addressing the dangers people are living with and cleaning up the river valley will undoubtedly require significant resourcing.”
The AusNCP has the power to investigate and mediate disputes between communities and companies, to issue findings on whether companies are in breach of their obligations under the OECD Guidelines and recommend actions to address any breaches that have occurred.
Publications
A copy of the human rights complaint can be found here.
The Human Rights Law Centre’s recent report After the mine: Living with Rio Tinto’s deadly legacy about the impacts of the Panguna mine can be found here.