When a Canadian mining company filed a lawsuit against a small African human-rights group, the company said it was merely seeking to get errors corrected. The African group disagreed, calling the suit an attempt to bully and silence it.experts took notice. Last month, the UN rapporteurs released a letter they had sent to the company, First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
The suits, often filed after a person or group speaks out on a project, can have a “chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression,” it said. First Quantum, a Canadian-based multinational with operations in seven countries and more than 19,000 employees at its Zambian copper mines alone, filed suit against Southern Africa Resource Watch in 2021 after a SARW report suggested that one of its Zambia mines had damaged the environment and local communities. The company complained of inaccuracies and demanded an apology and the equivalent of $82,000 in damages.
Claude Kabemba, executive director of SARW, said his group responded to the First Quantum lawsuit by creating the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Africa, aiming to resist similar cases across the continent. Mr. Gladston denied the accusation. The company “has always been open to public scrutiny and fair criticism from civil society organizations and the public in general,” he said. “Our approach remains to listen to various perspectives in order to inform us of areas where we can potentially improve as a business.”by Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products Inc. for the past decade.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CBCPolitics - 🏆 79. / 51 Read more »