Harvard Law School Report and Testimonies on Human Rights Abuses near Barrick’s Porgera Mine

In October & November 2009, the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs & Intl. Development held hearings on “Bill C-300, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability”.  The following statements were made regarding issues including allegations of killings, rape & other security problems involving personnel at the Porgera Joint Venture in Papua New Guinea, as well as the Porgera mine’s environmental impacts.  (Barrick Gold holds a large majority stake of the Porgera Joint Venture.)

Catherine Coumans, Research Coordinator & Asia Pacific Program, MiningWatch Canada
Tyler Giannini, Intl. Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School [USA]
Sarah Knuckey, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York Univ. School of Law [USA]

Barrick issued a response to these and other allegations made about its operations and impacts at the hearings, available here.

The statements above by Tyler Giannini and Sarah Knuckey were accompanied by a lengthy written report, which was submitted to the Committee in hard copy at the time of the testimony, and made available in PDF format in July 2010:

Table of contents & list of appendices
Executive summary & body of report
Appendix A
Appendix B-1
Appendix B-2
Appendix B-3
Appendix B-4
Appendix C

Barrick response to the report [PDF] – 23 July 2010