Dongria Kondh people still under threat from mining company

Mining companies - what do they get up to. I've posted about vedanta before.

Vedanta Resources intends mining the sacred mountain of the Dongria Kondh people. But there is an strong campaign to stop them. Survival International is one of the leaders in the fight and the information is from their latest report.

Out of control Vedanta Resources has told The UK government’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines on multinational enterprises to poke it's nose out of it's business, even though.

"Vedanta Resources is a British company, formed in the UK for the purpose of floating on the London Stock Exchange. It is, therefore, bound by British company law, and expected to abide by British corporate guidelines."

"The British government released the final review of its investigation, based on reports from both Survival and Vedanta on whether the company has made the changes demanded by the government last September."

Survival’s submission, based on a detailed field investigation, concluded, ‘We found not the slightest evidence that [Vedanta] has done anything at all. On the contrary, the company appears to have ignored the NCP’s recommendations in their entirety.’

Vedanta, however, has simply asserted, ‘Vedanta wishes to make clear that it does not accept the UK NCP’s conclusions'."

And what did the final report endorse.

"In September 2009, the British government upheld a complaint against FTSE 100 company Vedanta by Survival. The government’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines on multinational enterprises concluded that Vedanta had ‘failed to respect the human rights’ of the Dongria Kondh, whose sacred mountain Vedanta wishes to mine. The NCP concluded that a change in the company’s behaviour was ‘essential’

Vedanta could or would not do the following

"Vedanta should immediately and adequately engage with the indigenous group Dongria Kondh.

Vedanta should include a human and indigenous rights impact assessment in its project management process and in doing so should pay particular attention to the creation of an adequate consultation process, prior to the finalisation and execution of the project, with indigenous groups potentially affected by the company’s activities.

The UK NCP also stressed that whichever self-regulatory practices Vedanta chooses to follow, it is essential that these are translated into concrete actions on the ground, particularly in relation to the human and indigenous rights impact assessments and consultation with the affected communities."

This mining company will not win. The arrogance and obsession with profits have blinded them, they think they are invincible - but they are not. People power is stopping them. Here's what you can do

Act now to help the Dongria Kondh
Your support is vital if the Dongria Kondh are to survive. There are many ways you can help.

•Write to India’s Minister of Environment and Forests asking him to safeguard the Dongria Kondh’s rights.

•Donate to the Dongria Kondh campaign (and other Survival campaigns).

•Write to your local Indian high commission or embassy.

•If you want to get more involved, contact Survival…
 
Mining... indigenous people... organised opposition... people power... respecting unique indigenous cultures... wilderness...powerful multinational company's...
 
Hat tip Survival International