Joint letter to Anglo American about lead pollution and poisoning in Kabwe, Zambia
Along with lead organisation Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) and 30+ other civil society organisations and peers, CRIN has signed this open letter to the mining company Anglo American, urging them to address decades of mass lead poisoning affecting children in Kabwe, Zambia.
Dear Mr Wanblad,
We, the undersigned, write to urge you to take immediate action to address – through compensation, environmental remediation and the funding of a robust blood lead screening programme – the severe health impacts on children and pregnant women caused by Anglo American’s former lead mine in Kabwe, Zambia.
Today, people in Kabwe live in one of the most polluted places in the world, substantially because of the continuing legacy of massive environmental lead emissions during Anglo American’s operation of the Kabwe mine and its flagrant disregard for the health and safety of Kabwe’s residents.
The Kabwe mine was part of the Anglo American group for almost 50 years, between 1925 and 1974, during its most productive years. Evidence shows that Anglo American was aware at least from the early 1970s of widespread lead poisoning of local children and the environment– this evidence having been repeatedly reported by Mine doctors and international experts commissioned by Anglo American.
Tens of thousands of children in Kabwe have sustained lead poisoning including serious and lifelong neurological and cognitive impairment. As you are well aware, without any other legal recourse, a class action lawsuit has been filed in South Africa on behalf of an estimated 140,000 women and children in Kabwe who allege lead poisoning caused by Anglo American South Africa, the former Head Office Company of the Anglo American Group. The Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa will decide early next year whether or not the class action may proceed.
Living up to your own principles
Anglo American has expressly endorsed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, which includes the right to a remedy (Access to Justice). Your own Group Human Rights policy states: “Where we have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts we will contribute to their remediation as appropriate.” A number of UN Agencies and international NGOs have made formal representations to the South African court on the contradiction between Anglo American’s publicly stated Human Rights commitments and its opposition to the class action, which provides the Kabwe claimants’ only realistic means of access to a remedy.
It is too late for remediation for many of the children affected since you took over the mine almost 100 years ago. But there is still time to deliver on that promise for children in Kabwe today.
As the chief executive of Anglo American, you have an opportunity to enact meaningful change for the future of Kabwe’s children and make good on your stated values of ‘care and respect’, ‘integrity’ and ‘accountability’.
We collectively urge you and Anglo American to commit to:
Taking immediate steps to compensate the people of Kabwe for the harm caused to them by Anglo American’s historic legacy;
Setting up and funding a blood lead screening programme to protect future generations; and
Funding the remediation of land and water contaminated by lead.
Signed:
Organisations
ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa)
ACTSA Scotland (Action for Southern Africa)
African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA)
CAN Africa (Climate Action Network Africa)
Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
Christian Aid
Client Earth
Corporate European Observatory (CEO)
Corporate Justice Coalition
Environment Africa
European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
Friends of the Earth Africa
General Federation Trade Unions (GFTU)
Global Justice Now
GreenFaith Africa
Health Poverty Action
International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
ITUC Africa (International Trade Union Confederation Africa)
London Mining Network
RAID
Responsible Sourcing Network
Save the Children Zambia
Stamp Out Poverty
Transnational Institute
Individuals
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Cameron Boyle, Global Action for Health
Lee Crawford, Centre for Global Development
Lord Dholakia OBE DL
Lord Jonny Oates
Lord Paul Boateng (President Africa APPG)
Lord Peter Hain
Peter Burdin
Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon
Suresh Kamath, Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives Committee