Community members in Bandayi and Mege, DRC vs. Barrick Gold

Date filed

10 May 2022

Keywords

Countries of harm

Congo, The Democratic Republic of the

Current status

No resolution

Sector

Mining

NCP

NCP Canada

Allegations

On 10 May 2022, more than 2360 households from the villages of Bandayi and Mege in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, represented by an individual, filed a complaint against Barrick Gold to NCP Canada. The complaint relates to an incident occurring on 22 October 2021 by security agents allegedly under the instruction of Barrick Gold and Kibali Goldmines SA (a joint venture involving Barrick Gold) involving forced evictions, destruction of dwellings and other private property, deaths, and arrests. The complainants allege failures to comply with the Human Rights and Tax chapters of the OECD Guidelines. The complainants are seeking financial compensation to support the affected families and to assist with their relocation.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

On 5 February 2024, the complainants filed a separate complaint to the UK NCP against AngloGold Ashanti PLC concerning the same issues raised in this complaint. The UK NCP did not find a significant link between AngloGold Ashanti PLC and the UK, and the complainant later withdrew the case from the UK NCP.

The Canadian NCP then accepted the case (without publishing an initial assessment) and offered mediation to the parties, solely regarding the allegation that the company contributed to adverse human rights impacts arising from the resettlement of local peoples. The NCP considered the other issues to be either not material or not sufficiently substantiated to merit further examination.

In December 2023, the Canadian NCP facilitated a dialogue between the parties, but concluded that further engagement was unlikely to contribute to the resolution of the issue. The NCP made several recommendations to the company, including for it to disclosure more information about its engagement with government authorities and local police in relation to the events in 2021, and to continue to engage with the community to promote understanding between them. It also recommended alignment between the company’s activities and the Guidelines’ recommendations on human rights due diligence and disclosure.

The NCP will follow-up on its recommendations in six months.