a\u00a0case\u00a0brought\u00a0against the company\u00a0by three Eritrean refugees<\/a>for\u00a0the\u00a0alleged used of forced labour at its Bisha mine in Eritrea.<\/p>\nThe\u00a0three plaintiffs allege they were national service conscripts and that their labour was provided to Nevsun and its operating subsidiary, Bisha Mining Share Company, through two Eritrean companies related to Eritrea\u2019s ruling party and its military. They allege those Eritrean companies are documented slavers and the plaintiffs\u2019 labour was extracted under threat of torture, arbitrary detention, imprisonment in inhumane conditions and reprisals against family members.<\/p>\n
Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Newbury expressed particular concern about the lack of adequate alternative recourse in Eritrea, the plaintiffs\u2019 country of origin. In reviewing the evidence on Eritrea\u2019s judicial system, Justice Newbury agreed with the grim assessment of the court below, noting that the plaintiffs faced the prospect of \u201cno trial at all\u201d in Eritrea, or a trial \u201cpresided over by a functionary with no real independence from the state (which is implicated in this case) and in a legal system that would appear to be actuated largely by the wishes of the President and his military supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n
In arriving at her ruling, Justice Newbury also noted that the Eritrean government\u2019s practices of institutionalized forced labour through its so-called \u2018National Service\u2019 program were \u201cnot contemplated by any legislation\u201d \u2013 but that in any event, the acts alleged were so grave that they \u201ccould not be justified by legislation or official policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ruling affirms that the plaintiffs can prosecute a civil case in Canada for Nevsun\u2019s alleged complicity\u00a0in crimes against humanity, slavery, forced labour and torture at the Bisha mine. The Court found that international law is \u201cin flux\u201d and that transnational law, which regulates \u201cactions or events that transcend national frontiers\u201d is developing, especially in connection with human rights violations that are not effectively addressed by traditional \u201cinternational mechanisms.<\/p>\n
Joe Fiorante, Q.C., of Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP, lead counsel for the plaintiffs said that\u00a0\u201cThis is a very important win for the claimants. Nevsun will now have to answer these allegations of grave human right abuses on the merits in a Canadian court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are delighted with the ruling. It removes a hindrance to prosecuting the case and is an encouraging first step in the search for justice for the plaintiffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several years, Human Rights Concern \u2013 Eritrea (HRCE) has\u00a0drawn attention to\u00a0the\u00a0use\u00a0of National Service conscripts\u00a0as\u00a0slave labour by Nevsun and other international companies in Eritrea. Commenting on the Canadian court\u2019s ruling, HRCE\u2019s Director, Ms. Elsa Chyrum, described\u00a0it\u00a0as \u201ca significant milestone in holding perpetrators of gross human rights violations in Eritrea to account\u201d. Ms. Chyrum\u00a0added:\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Canadian court judgement is a\u00a0huge\u00a0step forward in the struggle for accountability for human rights abuses.\u00a0If the plaintiffs\u00a0go on to\u00a0win this case, it will have major implications for other potential cases against international companies\u00a0and their operations in Eritrea. It is hoped that, when this case finally comes to judgement,\u00a0that\u00a0it will become clear to all international companies\u00a0working\u00a0in Eritrea that they will be held responsible for the treatment of the workforce provided by the Eritrean government in their\u00a0industrial operations. We will continue our efforts to\u00a0bring an\u00a0end\u00a0to\u00a0modern day slavery and to seek accountability for other human rights violations\u00a0that are\u00a0being committed against people in Eritrea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(London,\u00a021 November, 2017) British Columbia\u2019s Court of Appeal today dismissed\u00a0an appeal by\u00a0Nevsun Resources Ltd., that\u00a0sought\u00a0to block\u00a0a\u00a0case\u00a0brought\u00a0against the company\u00a0by three Eritrean refugeesfor\u00a0the\u00a0alleged used of forced labour at its Bisha mine in Eritrea. The\u00a0three plaintiffs allege they were national service conscripts and that their labour was provided to Nevsun and its operating subsidiary, Bisha Mining Share Company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.1359999999999998987476601541857235133647918701171875,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3000000000000000444089209850062616169452667236328125,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.67849999999999999200639422269887290894985198974609375,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92000000000000003996802888650563545525074005126953125,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.84999999999999997779553950749686919152736663818359375,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.1999999999999999555910790149937383830547332763671875,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.270000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.020000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.4699999999999999733546474089962430298328399658203125,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
ERITREA: Canadian Appeal Court Affirms Eritreans\u2019 Slavery and Forced Labour Claims Can Proceed - UNITED ERITREA MEDIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ERITREA: Canadian Appeal Court Affirms Eritreans\u2019 Slavery and Forced Labour Claims Can Proceed - UNITED ERITREA MEDIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(London,\u00a021 November, 2017) British Columbia\u2019s Court of Appeal today dismissed\u00a0an appeal by\u00a0Nevsun Resources Ltd., that\u00a0sought\u00a0to block\u00a0a\u00a0case\u00a0brought\u00a0against the company\u00a0by three Eritrean refugeesfor\u00a0the\u00a0alleged used of forced labour at its Bisha mine in Eritrea. 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<\/p>\n