Land Acquisition and Resettlement - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 590

TABLE 14.2
Conventions on International Human Rights (Offi ce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva)

The International Human Rights Instruments

● The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

● The UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966

● The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966

● The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, 1963

● The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

● The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child

● The United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to
Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1999

The United Nations ILO 'Fundamental Conventions'

● Freedom of Association 1948

● Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention 1949

● Forced Labor Convention 1930

● Abolition of Forced Labor Convention 1957

● Discrimination Convention 1958

● Equal Remuneration Convention 1951

dwellers or squatters, who may have had no legally recognizable right to the land from
which they were displaced. The key instrument is the: 'Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, General Comment 7, The right to adequate housing (Art. 11 (1) of
the Covenant): forced evictions, UN Doc. E/C.12/1997/4 (1997)'. Under some circum-
stances, violation of such rights could leave a multi-national mining company exposed to
third party tort actions in European or US courts.
Local authorities often inl uence resettlement. They may i x the land value, regulate land
compensation procedures and they may act as mediators. In practice, land values set by the
local authorities may be much lower than those expected by the community. Mediation
is necessary when landowner and mine developer disagree on the magnitude of compen-
sation. If mediation fails, intervention by government authorities in some countries may
escalate to direct or indirect repressive measures. Local authorities justify the involvement
of the police or the military with the need to prevent public unrest. Clearly the presence
of police or military personnel in the process of land compensation is threatening to land-
owners, and may cause them to accept unfair payments. It may also violate common human
rights. Complaints of injustice in land compensation will invariably re-surface in the future.
Also, people who feel aggrieved may seek to disrupt a project as an attempt at revenge.
Disagreement of land acquisition may also lead to legal disputes frequently delaying
mining projects at great cost to the mine developer; additionally, compensation levels may
rise signii cantly on appeal.

In practice, land values set by the
local authorities may be much
lower than those expected by
the community.