Unticking Boxes

African mining needs compulsory human rights due diligence, says NGO

By David Whitehouse

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Posted on July 6, 2023 04:00

Artisanal miners work at the Tilwizembe outside of Kolwezi © Artisanal miners at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 11, 2016. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe — Artisanal miners at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 11, 2016. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe

Human rights due diligence for critical minerals mining in Africa needs to be mandatory rather than an optional extra, says Joseph Kibugu, regional manager for East Africa at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) NGO.

The Transition Minerals Tracker published by London-based BHRRC shows that Africa has recorded 92 allegations of human rights abuse linked to the extraction of transition minerals since 2010, the second-highest total for any continent behind only South America.

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