8 Feb 2021 by david
N'DJAMENA, Chad
The UK government accepted in January that issues raised in a complaint filed against UK mining firm Glencore in respect of its handling of two contamination incidents at its Badila oilfield in southern Chad “merit further examination”.
The complaint, filed by three human rights groups, alleges violations of OECD guidelines and details environmental and human rights harms as well as social engagement failures by the company.
The two incidents occurred in 2018: the first when an earth bank supporting a wastewater basin collapsed spilling 85 million litres of contaminated water onto neighbouring fields and into the Nya Pende River, which is the main source of water for the local population. The second occurred a few weeks later, when locals reported oil leaking from a pipe. Glencore disputes the latter incident.