British mining corporations supported by the UK government, such as Vedanta Resources, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, are complicit in human rights abuse while making huge profits in developing countries.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been urged to ratify an international convention to protect tribal ownership of land. He was presented with a letter by the president of a Brazil partner to the Catholic Aid Agency CAFOD, urging him to take action.
Three bishops from the Philippines and Australia issued a challenge at the Houses of Parliament yesterday, to end British investment in destructive mining.
The Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (CAFOD), the official aid agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, is today (11 May 2006) launching a report and campaign to highlight the injustice and exploitation that underlies the international gold trade.