A Canadian gold mining giant has been charged with human rights violations for its activities in Tanzania.
Hearings commenced yesterday against Barrick Gold Corp (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. Brought forth by lawyers on behalf of 32 plaintiffs, including the Indigenous Kuria from villages surrounding Barrick’s North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District.
Originally filed in a statement of claim in mid-November, the plaintiffs claim that “Barrick’s security strategy for the North Mara mine effectively converts the Tanzanian police assigned to operate in and around the mine into a private and heavily armed security force for the mine.”
The plaintiffs allege that this security strategy directly caused extensive human rights abuses, including acts of extreme violence. These resulted in deaths, shootings, beatings, and the torture of local villagers.
“It is simply incomprehensible that a major Canadian company like Barrick seems to prefer settling lawsuits on behalf of victims of alleged excess use of force, rather than to take effective steps to stop the violence,” says Catherine Coumans of MiningWatch Canada.
Shane Moffatt, the director of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability, emphasizes the need for Canada to enact mandatory due diligence legislation. The law would prevent harm, protect global human rights, and hold Canadian corporations accountable for their actions abroad.
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This is the latest in a series of court cases
In 2014, the Tanzanian government agreed with North Mara Gold Mine Limited to station up to 110 police officers. These “mine police” were present to guard the mine on an ongoing basis. Rights groups and community members have reported that police officers beat, shot, tortured, and detained residents living near the mine. The police accuse these residents of stealing from the mine and its surrounding dumping sites.
Barrick and the Tanzanian government have jointly owned the mine since 2019. The Indigenous Kuria people, who have engaged in small-scale local mining on the land for centuries, inhabit the area.
In 2022, 21 Tanzanians sued Barrick for the first time. They accused the company of complicity in extrajudicial killings and beatings of residents by the police assigned to the mine. The plaintiffs claimed the company effectively turned the mine police into a private, heavily armed security force.
“This lawsuit is a critical step toward properly adjudicating the claims of the Kuria people, whose lives have been deeply affected by Barrick Gold’s operations at the North Mara Mine,” says Professor Sara Ghebremusse of the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project.
“Our organization stands with the plaintiffs as they seek to overcome the procedural obstacles that they face to securing a fair and independent hearing in Canada and the opportunity to access legal remedies for the devastating harm they report having suffered.”
