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Mining Take Action

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Email the Foreign Secretary

Call on the government to abandon its promotion of voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives and support binding corporate regulation instead.

Use the form below to email William Hague MP, Foreign Secretary, or write to him at Rt Hon William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH.

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Dear Mr Hague,

I am writing to bring to your attention the recent War on Want report Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights.

The report exposes the way British mining companies are profiting from a pattern of global abuse and brutality against poor people. In countries such as Colombia and the Philippines, anti-mining activists and local communities are faced with an ever-present threat from military and paramilitary forces. In both countries, protesters have been murdered for their opposition to corporate mining activities.

Yet British companies continue to operate in such conflict zones, often benefiting from the intimidation caused by armed security groups. And there is a similar pattern of abuse in a range of other countries around the world.

The British government has relied on voluntary codes of conduct and self-regulation to police the extractives industry. This has been shown to be ineffective, and the government must now take action to make these companies accountable both nationally and globally.

War on Want's report demonstrates that for poor communities living with the impacts of the mining industry's activities, such voluntary initiatives mean very little and have been shown to be an ineffective alternative to regulation.

To prevent companies such as BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto from fuelling conflict situations and human rights abuses the government must abandon its promotion of voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives and support a binding framework for corporate accountability to regulate the activities of companies.

Yours sincerely

Tags: campaigns | corporations & conflict | mining