Peter A Allard School of Law

Corporate Control Over Human Rights: Barrick Gold’s North Mara Grievance Mechanism

Event Description:

Implementing an operational-level grievance mechanism is considered an effective remedy to address human rights violations that a business may commit. In accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, these mechanisms can support the identification and remediation of adverse human rights violations. Barrick Gold Corporation, first through its affiliate Acacia Mining and then on its own, has managed an operational-level grievance mechanism to address the violence and other human rights violations alleged by local communities near its North Mara mine in Tanzania. Since its implementation, the mechanism has been criticized for falling short of international standards and failing to redress community grievances. This presentation will discuss the history and shortcomings of Barrick Gold’s grievance mechanism, with a particular focus on how corporate control over human rights violations at the mine has transformed elements of Tanzania’s approach to mining governance.

No food or drinks allowed in the Theatre. 

Speaker:
Sara Ghebremusse
Dr. Sara Ghebremusse

Dr. Sara Ghebremusse is an Assistant Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. She writes, researches, and teaches in the areas of African mining, law and development, transnational law, and human rights. She has published in all these fields and has presented her research at conferences around the world. Dr. Ghebremusse is the Principal Investigator of a SSHRC Insight Development Grant-funded project examining how Canadian mining conflicts in Tanzania and Zambia have contributed to institutional transformation in the two countries. She has also supported the development of the Allard School of Law’s Executive Learning Program in Mining Law and Sustainability.


  • External Organization
  • General Public
Peter A. Allard School of Law UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Caret A month-view page from a calendar. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. Contact A page from a rolodex. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. Instagram An arrow exiting a rectangle. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Mail An envelope. Minus A minus sign. Telephone An antique telephone. Play A media play button. Plus A plus symbol indicating more or the ability to add. Rss The logo for the Reddit social media service. Rss A symbol with radiating bars indicating an RSS feed. Search A magnifying glass. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service. Youtube The logo for the YouTube video sharing service.