Is Business the Only Business of Business : Human Rights Responsibilities of Mining Companies in Eritrea

Eritrea has been ruled by a repressive government particularly for the last ten years. At a time when the government is stumbling by sheer weight of its barbarity, important minerals have been discovered in the country and several western mining companies are engaged in mining activities with some expecting production to start as early as in the last quarter of 2010. Unfortunately, this mineral blessing is now a curse. Mining revenue will add time to the life of the government and will be used to prolong the time of suffering of the Eritrean people. This paper has six sections. Section II briefly introduces the mining spree taking place in Eritrea and provides brief information about the more than one dozen companies involved in mining activities. Section III briefly discusses Corporate Social Responsibility under evolving international law and the failures of the companies engaged in mining activities in Eritrea. Section III also highlights some effective national laws such as the Alien Tort Claims Act of the United States and the complaint mechanism before the National Contact Points of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as potential forums in which the companies can be confronted. Section IV takes on Resolution 1907 of the United Nations Security Council which has some implications on investment in Eritrea. One of the key requirements companies must meet before they invest is implementation of Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs). In brief, Section V presents what HRIAs should have found for these companies. Section VI highlights some steps that can and should be taken to confront the companies