- Date filed
- 10 September 2022
- Keywords
- Countries of harm
- Current status
-
Under review
- Sector
- NCP
Allegations
On 10 September 2022, United Tegaru Canada (UTC), an NGO founded in response to the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, filed complaints against three Canadian mining companies, East Africa Metals Inc., Sun Peak Metals Corporation, and Parallel Mining Corporation, at the Canadian NCP. UTC claims that the companies are contributing to adverse human rights impacts allegedly committed by the Ethiopian government in the Tigray conflict by paying taxes/licensing fees to that government. UTC also questioned whether the companies had human rights policies and whether they were undertaking appropriate human rights due diligence. UTC asks the NCP to assist by providing a forum for constructive dialogue on the issues raised.
Relevant OECD Guidelines
- Chapter IV
- Chapter IV Paragraph 1
- Chapter IV Paragraph 2
- Chapter IV Paragraph 4
- Chapter IV Paragraph 5
Outcome
On 12 December 2023, the Canadian NCP published its initial assessment partially accepting the complaint and offering its good offices only in relation to the company’s policy commitment to human rights and the adequacy of its human rights due diligence, not its involvement with or contribution to the Tigray conflict. The NCP decided, “The language of the Guidelines and accompanying commentary suggests that the payment of taxes/licence fees to a government is not alone sufficient to substantiate a claim that the enterprise is contributing to or is involved in adverse impacts linked to violations committed by that government.” There was therefore not enough to substantiate the claim that the company was contributing to the human rights violation through its business activities. The NCP also noted that the Guidelines do not call on companies to avoid operating in a country due to the fact that the relevant government may be failing to protect human rights. “This reflects the distinction between the State’s duty to protect human rights and the enterprise’s responsibility to respect human rights, and speaks to the Guidelines’ being concerned more with how multinational enterprises operate, not where they operate (and to which governments they must therefore pay taxes or licence fees). Issues around the ultimate use of State tax revenue will typically not be material to the Guidelines.”
The NCP only offered to facilitate a single mediation session regarding the company’s human rights policy and due diligence.
More details
- Defendant
- Company in violation
- Other companies involved
- Complainants
- Affected people
Related complaints
- United Tegaru Canada vs. Sun Peak Metals Corporation
- United Tegaru Canada vs. East Africa Metals Inc.