Operational-Level Grievance Mechanisms: A New Approach to Human Rights for Mining Corporations

Abstract

This major research paper explores operational-level grievance mechanisms established by mining multinational corporations (MNCs) to complement and act as an alternative to judicial and non-judicial resolution processes currently addressing human rights issues. This type of mechanism has great potential to better address human rights complaints and ultimately mitigate the varied negative impacts mining MNCs have on local communities. To position the discussion in its broader context, the international legal framework from the perspective of international human rights law is presented. Subsequently, the Canadian framework is discussed as an example of national provisions affecting MNCs extraterritorially. This example demonstrates how the current national laws, court decisions, as well as non-judicial mechanisms fail to ensure that victims of human rights abuses committed by Canadian MNCs abroad receive proper adjudication and redress in Canada. Consequently, the background and definition of such grievance mechanisms is presented as well as three sets of criteria used to assess their effectiveness. In order to examine the question of site-level grievance mechanisms critically, two case studies of corporate grievance mechanisms established by mining MNCs are discussed and analysed.