By Valerie Croft

Earlier this week, human-rights organization Amnesty International launched a report detailing the illegal forced evictions which have occurred in Papua New Guinea around the Porgera Gold Mine. Canadians take note: the mine is 95-percent owned and operated by subsidiaries of Toronto-based Barrick Gold, as part of the Porgera Joint Venture.

The report, Undermining Rights: Forced Evictions and Police Brutality Around the Porgera Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea, describes the human rights violations which occurred between April and July of 2009, in the special mining lease area of Porgera Mine. Witnesses report that police forcibly evicted families living in communities bordering the mine, then proceeded to burn down their houses and destroy their belongings including gardens and livestock.

On April 27, 2009, at least 130 buildings in Wuangima, one of the communities most affected, were burned to the ground. At the time, many community members were out working, and came home to find their houses charred and destroyed. Others who were home at the time were met with violent confrontation. One woman in particular, an employee at PJV, said that a police officer struck her on the shoulder with the butt of a rifle and threatened her when she hesitated leaving her house. She was nursing her child in her arms at the time.

Witnesses say that one man, after refusing to leave his property, was locked in his house by police officers while his house was set on fire. It was only through the help of neighbours that he was able to escape. Some witnesses claim that police officers pointed their weapons directly at them, threatening to shoot them if they did not leave, while other accounts claim that police shot at or near them.

Like so many other Canadian extractive companies operating abroad, Barrick Gold continues to maintain that they uphold the highest human rights and environmental standards, while fully complying with all national and international laws. Furthermore, Barrick argues that the company’s support for the police presence at the mine is also conditional on compliance with all national laws of Papua New Guinea, as well as relevant international law including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

However, in violation of international law, the police carried out the forced evictions without any consultation with the affected people, without giving prior or adequate notice, and without regard for the well-being and safety of those involved. Also in breach of international law, no thought was given to resettlement or alternate accommodations.

Nothing was done by government officials, the police, or PJV to assist those who were forcibly evicted.

Although claiming to only passively support the police, PJV continues to house and feed the heavily armed Mobile Squad police that participated in the evictions. According to public statements, the company claims to have not requested the police presence in the first place. However, both Papua New Guinea’s chief of police operations and acting deputy commissioner of police, who oversees all Mobile Squad operations, as well as the deputy director of police special services, who is the current Mobile Squad commander in Porgera, advised Amnesty International that PJV was among those who requested the deployment of the Mobile Squad to the region.

Amnesty International is calling on the Papua New Guinean authorities to investigate what happened in Porgera, prosecute those responsible and provide remedies to those affected. Amnesty International is urging Barrick and PJV to support that call.

No doubt the report will also draw further attention to the climate of human rights abuses occurring in countries where there is a strong Canadian mining presence. Although governments are primarily responsible to uphold and promote human rights, many companies have also often failed to respect human rights because of deliberate action or inaction, failures of due diligence, or lack of understanding. The extractive industries in particular (mining, oil, and gas) have a grim track record of human rights and environmental abuses compared to other industry sectors.

Meanwhile in Canada, steps are being made to make Canadian companies operating abroad more accountable to human rights and environmental standards. When the House of Commons resumes in March, private member’s bill C-300 will have an extra 60 days in committee before returning to the House for a vote, which if passed, would make governmental financial and political support of Canadian extractive companies dependent upon meeting and adequately reporting on predetermined human rights and environmental standards.

In the lead up to Valentine’s Day, you can send an e-card that supports human rights at the Porgera mine.

Valerie Croft is a member of the business and human rights group at Amnesty International Canada.