Thank you, Tyler.
Chair and committee members, in October 2009 we provided testimony to this committee on allegations concerning gang rapes, physical abuse, and killings by security guards that we documented during three separate fact-finding missions to Barrick Gold's PJV mine in Papua New Guinea. Subsequently, we submitted a detailed supporting document, including extensive appendices of police and autopsy reports, which we encourage you to review.
Our 2009 testimony provided information on why independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigations by Barrick or the government of PNG have not yet occurred and are unlikely to take place. In 2006 the PNG government investigated deaths surrounding the mine, but four years later, it has yet to release the findings of those investigations.
We also testified to the existence of an MOU between the government of PNG and the PJV under which police reservists are part of the PJV security force, raising serious questions about the independence of any investigations by the police of Papua New Guinea.
Today, we respond to some of the claims made by Barrick Gold in its subsequent testimony to this committee, which further demonstrate the inherent problems of leaving a company to investigate itself and emphasize the importance of a bill like Bill C-300, which could help fill an alarming accountability gap.
First, let me address gang rapes. In response to our October 2009 testimony in which we documented numerous allegations of brutal gang rapes by guards on mine property, Barrick stated in its testimony that, to its knowledge, “no cases of sexual assault [have been] reported to mine management” and said, “It is not possible for the PJV to investigate an allegation it has never received...”.
Committee members, this exemplifies a “hear no evil, see no evil” approach to human rights abuses. Through our investigations, we quickly discovered allegations of sexual violence. Barrick would have been able to do the same if it had conducted any investigations at all.
Sexual violence by PNG police across the country is well known, as is the reluctance of women to report rape. Senior Barrick officials have been aware of general rape allegations at the mine since at least August 2006. Given such knowledge, Barrick should have, at a minimum, taken steps to proactively prevent sexual abuses, including by installing surveillance cameras on the waste dump areas where women were raped, and in the guard patrol vehicles; by doing community outreach to women to inform them of their rights and how to complain; and by creating a reliable internal complaint mechanism.
Further, while Barrick seems to imply that the rape allegations we testified to are false because women have “numerous avenues” to report an allegation of rape, this grossly misstates the realities on the ground. Most of the women I met do not know to whom at the company to complain or are fearful of retribution, community disapproval, being arrested, or suffering further abuse from the police.