Guinea: HRW Demands Respect for Rights

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that the Simandou iron ore mine project in Guinea poses severe risks to communities’ land, water, and the environment.

The human rights watchdog called on the companies developing the project to respect rights and environmental standards.

According to HRW, the track records of the companies call for the closest possible scrutiny.

Simandou, reportedly the world’s biggest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit, is being developed by a consortium led by Rio Tinto and Winning International Group.

Despite the economic implications of exploring the project, extracting iron ore from Simandou, according to HRW, will lead to tearing up forests and uprooting communities.

HRW also noted that the mining operation will cause water pollution of heavy metals and acid that drains from the mines and could go on for decades after mining operations have stopped.

‘Simandou is unprecedented for Guinea not only in its size and complexity but the threats it poses to the rights and environment of local communities’, a senior corporate accountability researcher and advocate at HRW, Jim Wormington, said in a statement.

‘Inadequate oversight of the project could result in human rights and environmental disaster’.

The companies, in a joint statement, had assured that they are conducting a risk assessment of the project’s rights impacts and are developing an independent audit regime to monitor compliance with environmental and social performance standards.

Photo source: HRW

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