As part of strengthening media practitioners’ core and aligning their mandate with human rights perspectives in mining, the Center for Public Interest Law, WACAM, and Oxfam briefed the media on the effects of mining on human rights in the Ahafo and Akyem projects.
The event, held on Thursday, 13th March, 2024, in Accra, highlighted significant landmarks affected by extreme mining practices of foreign entities in the Ahafo and Akyem communities.
Mr. Augustine Niber, Director at CEPIL, emphasized the need for media collaboration to ensure the right dissemination of information on human rights violations and negative effects of mining across communities.
“The media plays a crucial role in amplifying the voices of affected communities and holding mining companies accountable for their actions,” he noted. “We need to equip them with the needed access to information and show them the reality on the grounds, people are suffering due to the bad treatment from these foreign entities.”
According to Mr. Niber, these human rights violations are not only unacceptable but also undermine Ghana’s development progress, which requires a concerted effort from the government, mining companies, and civil society organizations.
“We must work together to ensure that mining benefits both the economy and the people living in resource-rich communities.” He reiterated.
Madam, Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, associate executive director at WACAM asserted that most of Ghana’s Forest reserves are sitting on gold and there are serious debate as to whether to mine or not to mine in forest reserves.
“Mining companies have mined the Kubi, Tano Suraw and part of Nueng forest reserves.” She said.
According to her, Newmont has the intention to mine in the Ajenua Bepo Forest Reserve in the Akyem project and use Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP) as a way of rationalising the destruction of forest reserves by mining companies.
A representative from WACAM addressed the media on key human rights violations in the extractive sector, including the use of life-threatening chemicals and displacement of homes.
“The unregulated use of toxic chemicals in mining has caused long-term damage to Ghana’s water resources, threatening the country’s ability to provide safe drinking water. Mining operations have led to the displacement of local communities, with many families losing their homes and livelihoods.”
He continued, “The extractive sector in Ghana lacks transparency, making it difficult to track revenue and ensure that companies are paying their fair share of taxes.”
Key stakeholders, including CSOs and government agencies, shared their experiences and advocated for suitable measures for affected mining communities.
