The Ghanaian Government and Newmont recently
received letters from several of the 'special rapporteurs in the Special
Procedures Division of the UN Human Rights Commissioner's (UNHRC). These
questions concerned the Akyem project and its alleged impacts on the people and
environment of that area. The questions were based on allegations made by
unspecified parties.
Prior to the complaint coming from the UN, no person
or organization had posed the allegations to Newmont or to the government
directly, nor, to our knowledge, was any resident of the Akyem project area
involved in the complaints.
Newmont has responded directly to the UNHRC and it
is our understanding that the Government has also responded. Out of respect and
courtesy, we have chosen not to make our responses to the allegations public at
this stage. Rather, we await the Commission's response.
In the meantime, however, Akyem community members
have chosen to protest what seems to them to be a challenge to a project they
overwhelmingly support and an attack on them by an outside group with
absolutely no consultation or discussion. They have issued their own communiqué
(see attached), signed by 177 community leaders including the following:
Kokotu
Paramountcy representative and Stool Land Owners (chiefs) from Abirem,
Afosu, Adausana, and Ntronang.
Birem
North Chapter of GCCI (Ghana National Chamber of Commerce & Industry)
Birem
North Umbrella Youth Association,
Akyem
Youth Association,
District
Assembly members;
Concerned
Farmers and others.
A recent petition mentioned in the
Ghanaian media was allegedly signed by 370 'concerned farmers'. Unlike the
above communiqué (and unlike the petitions appearing at www.newmontghana.com
), the new petition has never been shown publicly and includes no physical
signatures by actual residents of Akyem.
