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Letter to African Minerals Limited and Response

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Letter to African Minerals Limited and Response HUMAN RIGHTS WHOSE DEVELOPMENT? Human Rights Abuses in Sierra Leone’s Mining Boom WATCH Whose Development? Human Rights Abuses in Sierra Leone’s Mining Boom Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-1067 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org FEBRUARY 2014 978-1-62313-1067 Whose Development? Human Rights Abuses in Sierra Leone’s Mining Boom Map of Sierra Leone ............................................................................................................ i Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 7 To the Government of Sierra Leone ............................................................................................ 7 To the Inspector General of Police ............................................................................................. 7 To the Ministry of Mines ........................................................................................................... 8 To the Ministry of Lands ........................................................................................................... 8 To the Ministry of Labour ......................................................................................................... 9 To the Ministry of Justice .......................................................................................................... 9 To the Ministry of Education ..................................................................................................... 9 To African Minerals Limited and Other Companies ................................................................... 10 To the Government of Sierra Leone and African Minerals Limited ............................................. 10 To Sierra Leone’s International Partners, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and Bilateral Donors, such as the United Kingdom ......................................... 11 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 12 I. Development in a Post-conflict Country ..........................................................................14 The Strategy: Running the Country like a Business .................................................................. 16 Local Strife from International Investment ............................................................................... 18 Role of Chiefs in Land Deals .................................................................................................... 19 Arrival of African Minerals Limited to Tonkolili ......................................................................... 22 II. Displacement to Permit Mining ..................................................................................... 25 “It Was Not Our Wish to Come Here” ...................................................................................... 26 Relocation of Ferengbeya, Wondugu, and Foria ...................................................................... 29 Empty Promises ...................................................................................................................... 31 Availability of Food ........................................................................................................... 31 Access to Water ................................................................................................................ 32 Right to Livelihood ........................................................................................................... 33 Ability to Afford Education ................................................................................................ 34 Seeking Compensation ........................................................................................................... 35 III. Labor Rights Violations at the AML Tonkolili Mine ....................................................... 38 Burgeoning Discontent ........................................................................................................... 39 Representation by a Union of their Choosing ................................................................... 40 Arbitrary Termination and Inability to Appeal .................................................................... 41 Alleged Discriminatory Treatment ..................................................................................... 43 IV: Excessive Use of Force by Bumbuna Police ................................................................... 46 Lack of Corporate Response to Worker Concerns ..................................................................... 47 Dispute at the AML Fuel Depot Spills Over .............................................................................. 49 The Police Descend on the Market .......................................................................................... 51 Police Deployment .................................................................................................................. 52 Arrest of Radio Station Manager .............................................................................................. 53 Local Women Attempt to Stop the Violence ............................................................................. 54 Official Response to the Unrest ............................................................................................... 55 V. Rights-Based Development .......................................................................................... 58 Update and Strengthen Land Law and Administration ............................................................. 58 Clarify Legal Powers of Paramount Chiefs ............................................................................... 60 Bolster Labor Department and Labor Laws, and Allow Multiple Unions .................................... 61 Protect Civil Society, Including Labor Activists......................................................................... 63 Ensure Transparency ............................................................................................................. 66 VI. National, Regional, and International Standards ........................................................... 71 Sierra Leone’s Constitution ..................................................................................................... 71 International Treaties ............................................................................................................. 72 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ........................................................................ 73 International Guidance on Government Obligations around Evictions ...................................... 73 Corporate Responsibility to Protect Human Rights ................................................................... 75 VII. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 78 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 79 Annex I: Follow-Up Letter to African Minerals Limited ....................................................... 80 Annex II: Letter to African Minerals Limited and Response ............................................... 85 Map of Sierra Leone I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | FEBRUARY 2014 Summary On April 16, 2012, workers at African Minerals Limited (AML), an iron ore mining firm headquartered in London, went on strike in Bumbuna, a small town in northern Sierra Leone. The workers, frustrated by what they alleged to be discrimination and mistreatment on the job and the inability to form a union of their own choosing, refused to go to work and persuaded employees working for AML contractors to join the strike. The workers tried to prevent AML vehicles from refueling for the uphill drive to the mine to extract the iron ore. Officers at Bumbuna’s small and poorly equipped police station, alarmed by the protest, called for reinforcements from the district and regional police headquarters; an estimated 200 police officers descended upon the town the next day. Protesters, some armed with rocks, marched in the street, and in an apparent attempt to maintain order, the police opened fire on the market and town center, killing a 24-year-old woman and wounding eight
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