Eritrea: UN has received reports of use of forced labour at Nevsun's mine from "numerous sources"; includes company's comments
The Security Council's Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea - has found evidence of forced labour practices at Nevsun's Bisha mine in Eritrea. Nevsun has in the recent past denied existence of forced labour at its mine.
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UN Security Council's Monitoring Group on Somalia & Eritrea alleges Nevsun's Bisha mine uses forced labour
Author: United Nations
"Letter dated 22 September 2015 from the members of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea addressed to the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751(1992) and 1907(2009) concerning Somalia & Eritrea"
"Throughout its mandate, the Monitoring Group has received testimony from numerous sources, including from former senior Eritrean officials, that Senet, Segen and Mereb have used military conscripts to build and work on the mine. According to multiple credible sources, the State-owned contractors and subcontractors hired by Nevsun to provide labour are engaged in an informal pay structure, whereby the contractors and subcontractors charge a certain amount to Nevsun for each military conscript or local worker employed at the mine while they pay far lower wages to the military conscripts or local workers. Although the exact figures of labour agreements between Nevsun and the contractors remain unknown, currently the workers of contractors and subcontractors are being paid monthly wages of between 200 and 500 nakfa. The rest of the funds paid by Nevsun to Segen and Mereb are being held by the aforementioned contractors and thus, by extension, by the military and the Government because the contractors are effectively State-owned companies."...
"The Group found that Nevsun had hired Segen and Mereb to provide labour in an arrangement where they paid workers far less than the amount that they were charging Nevsun for the labour. It is suspected that the difference is being withheld by Segen and Mereb, and thus, by extension, by the Eritrean military and Government."
Nevsun's defence of its operations - denies use of forced labour at Bisha mine
Author: Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
"Canada's Nevsun defends Eritrea mining after damning UN report"
Canadian mining company Nevsun Resources is defending its operations in Eritrea following a damning report by the United Nations that accused the miner of using forced labour in the North African country. Nevsun released an updated independent human rights report this week that found no evidence of forced labour or human rights violations at its 60-per-cent-owned Bisha mine in Eritrea, where thousands of people are fleeing on perilous treks to Europe...
Todd Romaine, vice-president of corporate social responsibility at Nevsun, said in an email that the company's operations help Eritrea in its ongoing development. He added that Nevsun is optimistic that well-paying jobs like those in the mining sector can help stem migration.
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