Tribal Claims against the Vedanta Bauxite Mine in Niyamgiri, India: What Role Did the UK OECD National Contact Point Play in Instigating Free, Prior and Informed Consent?

Abstract

Drawing primarily on field work conducted from 2012 to 2013, the report examines the role that the UK National Contact Point (UK NCP) played in providing redress to tribal communities affected by a proposed mine in the Niyamgiri Hills, in the district of Kalahandi, located in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The UK NPC is a non-judicial human rights mechanism created in accordance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational enterprises. The case was Survival international, a UK based non-government organisation on 19 December 2008. The case was able to be brought before the UK NCP because Vedanta, the transnational resource company in this case, was listed on the UK stock exchange.

Keywords: Business and Human Rights, Corporate Accountablity

JEL Classification: H7, F60, F66, K20