Read the Final Statement published 17 May 2024: English | French

On 10 May 2022, an individual submitted a specific instance on behalf of individuals from Mege and Bandayi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Canadian NCP alleging that Barrick Gold Corporation, the mine operator involved in the joint venture Kibali Gold Mine, had not observed the General Policies (Chapter II), Human Rights (Chapter IV), and Taxation (Chapter XI) provisions of the Guidelines. Specifically, issues concerned alleged adverse human rights impacts, arising from the removal of individuals from an “exclusion zone” and the police response to unrest following the relocation. Additionally, the submitter alleged non-fulfilment of tax obligations.

On 1 June 2023, the Canadian NCP adopted its initial assessment, deciding to accept one of the issues on the case for further examination. The initial assessment statement noted that the allegation regarding the adverse human rights impacts caused by the police response as well as the allegation on non-fulfilment of tax obligations were not substantiated. The Canadian NCP therefore moved forward focusing on the issue of adverse human rights impacts caused by the removal of individuals from an “exclusion zone”.
The NCP made an offer of good offices to the parties, which they both accepted. The NCP facilitated a dialogue on 1 December 2023, in which it observed the parties largely reiterating previously expressed positions and information, and saw little initiative to achieve a basis for more focused and productive dialogue on potential resolution of the issue.

The NCP determined that offering to facilitate further mediation was unlikely to contribute to a resolution of the issue.

On 17 May 2024, the Canadian NCP published a final statement concluding the specific instance without agreement between the parties.
The NCP issued the following recommendations to the company:

• Consider disclosing and/or encouraging the disclosure of more information about the enterprise’s engagement with government authorities around the planning and execution of the 2021 resettlement, as well as the nature of the enterprise’s relationship with local police and public security authorities.
• Continue to engage with the community to promote understanding of the role of local police in providing security for the mine site.
• Continue to engage with and support local authorities in promoting respect for human rights in law enforcement and security activities related to the mine.
• Communicate with the local community about how the “many lessons learned following the eviction of the illegal settlement on the Kibali mining lease” (Barrick Gold’s 2021 Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights report) have been addressed in the enterprise’s operations and policies.
• Communicate to the local community the enterprise’s expectations concerning respect for human rights and the principles that will guide the enterprise’s engagement with local authorities and stakeholders in any future government-led resettlement operations involving the Kibali mine.

The NCP plans to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations in autumn 2024. The NCP will publish a follow-up statement.

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