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Malawian NGO challenges alleged settlement of court case over the Kayalekera mine
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| Malawian civil society continue to protest against Palladin Resources Kayelekera uranium mine |
Malawian NGOs question the legitimacy of the settlement of a court case brought by six NGOs in relation to Australia company Paladin Resource's Kayalekera uranium mine in Northern Malawi.
NGOs coalition members unhappy with the settlement agreement announced by Paladin Resoruces in an ASX statement have indicated they will continue with legal action to protect the Malawian people's constitutional rights, unless and until the company is willing to enter negotiations to change its proposal in a way that addresses the flaws, gaps and problems in the project that pose serious public health and environmental risks.
Civil society sources in Malawi have outlined to MPI the extreme pressure indivduals in the NGOs have been under to settle the court case, including various incidents of threats and intimidation. Various sources have also indicated that signatures were sought from individuals who were not authorised to settle the court case, after authorised representatives refused to sign the settlement agreement proposed by the company. At least one NGO, Citizens for Justice has indicated publicly its intention to challenge the settlement on this basis (see statement below).
A range of concerns, including the poor assessment of health hazards of radiation, and the impacts of the extensive water extraction from the mine on local communites remain unaddressed in the proposed settlement agreement. The agreement was deemed unacceptable by those representing various NGOs as failing to address the concerns that were the rationale for filing the court case, while binding the NGOs from taking further legal action in defense of the Malawian people's constitutional rights.
The agreement apparently provides no guarateed improvement in the regulatory conditions of the operation, with a commitment to develop radiation related legislation but no clear benchmarks as to the standards that will be applied, or when they will apply to the company. The settlement offered NGOs a right to be 'consulted' in the development of the legislation but no real say in what would be finally adopted.
MPI urges Palladin Resources to:
1. agree with NGOs who hold outstanding concerns on a transparent, fair, free and open negotiation process, that must include a willingness to make change the project operational plans to address the gaps and flaws in the assessment and management identified by independent reviewers
2. ensure that individuals within the NGOs are not subject to any threats or intimidation in relation to their ongoing concerns
For more information contact Techa Beaumont on advocacy@mpi.org.au
Statement by Citizens for Justice , released 18th November 2007
Citizens for Justice Challenges the Legitimacy of the Settlement Agreement Between Paladin & the Government of Malawi and Members of the Mining Network
Citizens for Justice (CFJ) is in the process of seeking legal advise on challenging the legitimacy of the settlement agreement allegedly finalized by Paladin Resources and Civil Society groups concerned about the impacts of the proposed uranium mine in Kayelekera.
The process undertaken by Paladin to collect signatures on the settlement agreement is in the view of CFJ to be in bad faith, given that the members of some of organizations whose signature were successfully sought by Paladin had no legal authority to enter into such an agreement. We wish to make our intentions public of challenging the legitimacy of the settlement agreement. We intend to initiate legal processes in the shortest time possible for the rule of law and for fundamental human rights to be upheld.
We see this action by Paladin to be a serious breach of their commitment to proper negotiating with the civil society in Malawi whose concerns of uranium mining are legitimate.
CFJ condemns the excessive pressure and intimidation placed on civil societies to reach a settlement agreement which does not adequately address the original concerns pertaining to human rights, environmental impact and equitable economic benefits sharing.
CFJ urges Paladin and the Government of Malawi to seriously address our legitimate concerns with honest and open negotiations. Failing this, we would ask that our rights to seek legal action be respected and that personal intimation and excessive pressure not be used against us in our pursuit of this.
For more information, please contact:
Techa Beaumont
Workphone: +61 2 9557 9019
Mobile: +61 409 318 406
Created: 19 Nov 2007 | Last updated: 19 Nov 2007
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