A letter by Kazakh NGO QaraQar/Black Snow raises concerns about repeated refusals by Arcelor Mittal to purchase an apartment for Yelena Steshina whose husband, the sole provider for her family, tragically died in an accident that occurred at Kazakhstanskaya mine in August 2023.

Yelena is a disabled person of the 3rd group, which means she is unable to work. However, she needs to take care of her family which includes her 15-year-old son and a 73-year-old retired mother. Yelena made three requests to ArcelorMittal to purchase an apartment chosen based on her family needs, but each request was rejected.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited ArcelorMittal to respond to the letter. The company responded. Its response and the full text of the letter can be found below.