Petra Diamond's says it is investigating allegations of human rights abuses from RAID
" Statement regarding allegations of human rights abuses from RAID"
Petra Diamonds Limited acknowledges the report published today by the UK-based NonGovernmental Organisation (“NGO”) RAID entitled ‘The Deadly Cost of Ethical Diamonds’ (the “Report”) which identifies a number of alleged human rights abuses relating to the security operations of the Williamson mine in Tanzania, which are managed by Williamson Diamonds Limited (“WDL”, the operator of the mine, owned 75% by Petra and 25% by the Government of Tanzania), a third party security contractor and the local Tanzanian police force...
The Company is working hard to address the allegations as a matter of urgency: a sub-committee of the Board, comprised entirely of independent Non-Executive Directors, has been formed to oversee the matter and an investigation has been initiated and is being carried out by a specialist external adviser in conjunction with the Company’s lawyers. The investigation is scheduled to be completed by the end of the calendar year and the Committee will consider the outcome of the investigation and the recommendations to address any findings. This may include any required remedy or corrective action to be taken as a result of the investigation’s conclusions.