“CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: URGENT NEED FOR GOVERNMENT TO SUSPEND GOLD MINING IN BOZOUM”, 17 April 2020

The actions of four gold mining companies could be putting at risk the human rights of thousands of people in the Central African Republic (CAR). The government there must suspend their operations while investigating the impact they are having and provide necessary assistance to local inhabitants. This investigation should involve community and civil society representatives as well as independent technical experts.

Amnesty International has reviewed three official reports that were published in 2019 that raised serious concerns about the gold mining operations. Two of these were based on investigations by the government, and the third by a group of parliamentarians. These recommended either that the mining operations be suspended, as the parliamentary report urged, or that a series of measures be put in place in order to address the social and environmental impacts, such as the alleged use of mercury. Despite these recommendations the four gold mines continue to operate.

Amnesty International has also analysed recent satellite imagery, photographs and videos, which appear to show that the four gold mines, which are all owned by the same person, have caused profound changes to the Ouham River, near Bozoum in the north western prefecture of Ouham-Pendé…

The mines are owned by four related companies – Tian Xiang, Tian Run, Meng, and SMC Mao. Amnesty International has not been able to find any relevant publicly available information about these companies, such as their ownership structure, or whether they have ties to parent companies in China…

… China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC) published guidelines for Chinese companies to follow in order to source minerals responsibly…

The companies operating the four gold mines must therefore take steps to identify whether they are causing or contributing to human rights abuses, prevent further abuse and mitigate and account for how they have addressed these abuses. This should include remediation for any affected individuals and communities…