Public Agenda (Accra)
Selorm Amevor
12 May 2008
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Joe Ghartey has on behalf of the government announced the discontinuation of military protection for mining companies operating in the country.
The Minister made the announcement at the just ended hearing of the Human Rights Council meeting at Geneva, where the government was summoned to answer charges levelled against mining companies in the country for human rights violations.
According to sources at the meeting the Attorney-General admitted the accusations brought against the government in a report by WACAM and the FoodFirst and Information Network (FIAN) and indicated that remedial measures will be taken to halt the use of the military against mining communities.
The report submitted to the Human rights council by FIAN and WACAM emphasized among other things that the expansion of mining operations and the related deployment of the military and police to the mining areas in Ghana have led to serious human rights violations in many mining communities.
Underlying these human rights violations is the conflict over access to and control over natural resources like land and water between local communities and multinational mining companies.
In his introductory statement the Attorney General said "It is true that at a certain point, joint military and police teams were protecting mining companies driving away illegal miners, but that was a short term measure and we have reviewed it and we don't intend to continue it."
This announcement has been welcomed by both WACAM and FIAN. The Director of Training and Research at WACAM, Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng welcomed the news but urged the government to be proactive in ensuring that the soldiers leave the mining communities.
According to her, towns like Prestea in the Western region still have military personnel Iliving in the town where their services are quickly souhgt when it matters most.
Mrs. Koranteng further said human rights abuse goes beyond physical abuse but also economic, social and cultural abuse continue to be meted out onto people living in these communities and the time has come for government to consider such issues.
She further called on the Attorney-General to expedite action in the case involving five officials from WACAM and Oxfam America who were arrested for organizing a community meeting at Yamfo.
FIAN also welcomed the announcement and says it will continue to monitor the deployment of military and police to the mining areas. It however objects to the impression created by the Minister that conflict between security personnel and civilians is restricted to the issue of illegal mining.
FIAN is of the view that victims of human rights violations by military and police do not only include small-scale miners but also farmers who are denied their access to farmland or whose crops and fish ponds are destroyed.
In addition it objects to the statement by the Minister which suggests that rights of mining companies are to be respected on an equal level as rights of vulnerable groups.
According to FIAN farmers displaced by mining belong to the most vulnerable and disempowered groups in Ghana. It is the obligation of the state to protect their human right to food; water and health no matter what economic interests are involved.
In the specific case of the proposed Akyem gold mine in Ghana which Newmont is seeking a permit to operate, FIAN supports the call by local communities on the government not to permit mining in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve.
In order to demonstrate respect for the human rights of the mining communities in Ghana, FIAN is calling on the responsible state institutions to ensure that further human rights violations will be prevented and that perpetrators acting on behalf of the state or private companies are prosecuted.
In addition, FIAN hopes that the report by Ghana's Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on human rights violations in mining communities in the country as disclosed by its Deputy Commissioner Richard A. Quayson during the hearing will be released soon.
FIAN also regrets that the Ghanaian delegation failed to respond to the questions posed by Germany and Brazil on the effects of large-scale mining on and where communities draw water and farm.
Brazil specifically asked about the effects on the right to health in the context of water pollution and cyanide spills and about the steps taken by the Ghanaian government to promote access to drinking water.
Only last week, this paper published AngloGold Ashanti's official confirmation of findings of a research done by FIAN on untreated waste water, including raw faecal matter being discharged from its staff bungalows at the Iduapriem mine into streams which serve as sources of drinking water for villages in the area.
Another negative example is Bogoso Gold Limited, a subsidiary of Golden Star Resources which is currently forcing the expansion of its mining operations in Ghana, and which is responsible for numerous cyanide spills.
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