By: Audrey Raymonda John
Amnesty International, has called on the government to ensure that the human rights of people living close to the diamond mine exploited by Meya Mining in the eastern Kono district are protected.
The organization also urged Meya Mining to fulfil its commitment to respond to community concerns.
In a press release issued, Amnesty International stated that between 2018 and 2021delegates conducted research in the Kono district on the impact of Meya Mining’s mining activities. According to them, the research revealed several concerns, including unsafe water in boreholes constructed by Meya, dangers to communities living in the vicinity of the mine, and other violations of the socio-economic rights of local people.
Amnesty International said after raising these concerns with the Sierra Leonean authorities and Meya Mining, they received the company’s reply in August 2022 to outline the measures it has taken to consult neighbouring communities and prevent any harmful impacts from its mining operations, such as water pollution. They said to date, the organization has not received a substantive response from the Sierra Leonean authorities.
“The authorities must ensure that all issues raised have already been addressed” they stated in the press release.
” Although on 9 August 2022, Sierra Leone Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals Development Act, which aims to improve the welfare of communities affected by future mining exploration, the government of Sierra Leone must ensure that anyone whose human rights have been violated by any mining company has access to justice, an effective remedy mechanism and reparations”, said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
Amnesty International said in 2018, they started research into mining activities in Kono District. According to the testimonies collected by Amnesty International, many residents claimed that they were not engaged in a process of genuine consultation before the mining operations began.
Amnesty International recalls that international human rights norms, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, clearly state that communities must give their prior consent for all forms of resource exploitation on their traditional lands and must also benefit accordingly.
Dilating the activities of Meya Mining’s plant, Amnesty International said the places where they use to mine used to be a swampy environment. They said the community people have been using that place to plant crops for survival and take care of the fees of their children.
” They gave me only USD 98 for the swamp and the plantation”, said a woman from the Simbakoro community.
Amnesty International said in 2019, they also took water samples for testing from two boreholes constructed by Meya Mining in the Koaquima community and the results revealed high levels of nitrates in both samples (110 mg/l for sample 1 and 120 mg/l for sample 2), which were well above safe levels (50 milligrams per litre) recommended by the World Health Organization.
They said at that time residents from the community were complaining about Meya’s borehole: “We cannot use the borehole water provided by Meya for drinking. It contains Spirogyra [a type of algae]. We see them in the water. It is poisonous. We use the water for washing and cooking because it has a taste, it is salty,” said a resident of Kaoquima community, located in an area where Meya Mining operates.
Meya Mining confirms that they also tested the water in the boreholes the same year and they did not contest the high level of nitrate in the water at this time
Touching on the forced to shelter from explosions, after the communities receive notification from the company, the explosions of the mines take place. Before these explosions start, inhabitants explained that they are forced to evacuate their homes and take shelter in the different structures made by the company until the blasting is over.
investigation made by Amnesty International revealed that In the Simbakoro community, at the time of the wood-and-tarpaulin structure constructed by Meya Mining in which inhabitants sought shelter was covered in holes and a state of disrepair. It also could not hold more than 300 people, when the community has more than 2,000 members. Simbakoro residents did not feel safe under this structure when blasting was taking place. As one of its members says: “The shelter is not safe. The shelter is not suitable for human use. It is like a pig shelter. It’s for animals.”
Amnesty International is also concerned that no sufficient steps were taken to ensure the safety of the mine sites despite their proximity to local communities including children.
