Supplementary memorandum submitted by
Survival International
Earlier this year we submitted a report to the
JCHR regarding the activities of FTSE100 company Vedanta Resources
in the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa, India.
This week, the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills (BIS) issued a Final Statement on Survival International's
complaint against Vedanta under the OECD Guidelines for multinational
enterprises.
The British government's statement condemns
Vedanta's treatment of the Dongria Kondh tribal community and
upholds Survival's complaint. It concludes that Vedanta "did
not respect the rights and freedoms of those affected by its activities
consistently with the international instruments of which India
is a party", "did not consider the impact of the construction
of the mine on the [Dongria's] rights" and failed to consult
with the Dongria.
I hope that you will use this information in
your current review of business and human rights and that the
JCHR will be ensuring that the government follows up on cases
like this so that such statements do not remain toothless paper
recommendations.
As requested, we shall be reporting back to
the National Contact Point at BIS within three months with news
of whether Vedanta has abided by its recommendations. If it has
not, we will be seeking ways to ensure that sanctions are levied
on the company and would be very interested to hear your views
on what the government could—or should—do in this
regard.
13 October 2009
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