That company just contributed a sizeable amount of money to a bankrupt Greece so Mr. Saras doesn't expect any great amount of intervention by the government.
“There is currently little or no recourse for communities that are facing violations of their rights,” says Michael Casey, Executive Director of Development and Peace. “The laws in their own countries are weak or not enforced. The mines come at a very high price for these communities, as they are the ones who experience the impacts but gain little from the profits. Having an ombudsman would allow them to have their concerns heard by an impartial body who can determine if any violations have taken place.”
Development and Peace has campaigned on this issue before, collecting half a million signatues in support of stronger accountablity standards for the Canadian extractive sector (mining), which includes nearly seventy five percent of the mining and exploration companies listed on Canadian stock exchanges.
“We are hearing from communities in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Phillippines, Peru, Honduras, Indonesia and others. As Canadians who believe and respect human rights and the environment, we want Canadian companies to reflect these values, no matter where they operate,” adds Casey.
An ombudsman simply informs the public, it has no legal muscle. We have government ombudsmen who trot out their sins, but the Minister or Mayor do not get fired (at most they get shuffled to another post) and its back to the same old. What public outcry can happen when people hear about mischief of a mining company ? Their product might not even end up in Canada. We hear about the sins of China yet we continue to buy their goods.
Adu Raudkivi
