TY - JOUR
T1 - The human rights of artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:The responsibility of mining companies
AU - Mària Serrano, J.
AU - Taka, Miho
PY - 2012/4/6
Y1 - 2012/4/6
N2 - The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) in mining companies can contribute to the promotion of artisanal miners' human rights (HR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). First, the paper designs a framework for a public policy on artisans, then it incorporates the possible contribution of companies to this policy drawing from the existent CSR literature. This framework is applied to relationships between mining companies and artisans in Katanga, a lowconflict Province of the DRC. Finally, CSR guidelines for the promotion of artisans' HR are formulated. The theoretical framework articulates a public policy approach – which includes different actors – and a CSR approach – which develops the specific role of one such actor: the company – in the promotion of artisanal miners' HR. Data used in the empirical part are qualitative and include primary data gathered from visits to different mining companies operating in the Province and an interview with a local specialist in artisanal miners. The first finding is that artisanal miners are a heterogeneous group, with multiple HR problems. Therefore, a public policy and a CSR policy to promote their HR are equally complex issues. However, local practices in the specific context of Katanga suggest two suitable CSR strategies for promoting artisans' HR: supporting new sustainable economic activities where artisans have been displaced by a company; and promoting the formalization of artisanal activity where companies are the artisans' clients. This paper does not include interviews with mining company managers in Katanga in order to design very specific actions in each one of these CSR strategies. The research does not include field work in highconflict areas. The heterogeneity and dynamism of artisanal miners' problems and the weakness of the Congolese State lead to a basic recommendation for responsible mining companies in lowconflict areas: the implementation of dialogues with local communities and local governments in order to cover the needs of artisanal miners and discover innovation opportunities for the companies. Although there is abundant literature on artisanal miners, the connection of artisanal miners and CSR has scarcely been developed. As far as the author knows, the illustration of this connection for the DRC has not been addressed. Additionally, the design of public policies for artisanal miners – part of the informal economy – and the contribution of companies to such policies can help address problems arising from other informal activities in Africa.
AB - The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate social responsibility (CSR) in mining companies can contribute to the promotion of artisanal miners' human rights (HR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). First, the paper designs a framework for a public policy on artisans, then it incorporates the possible contribution of companies to this policy drawing from the existent CSR literature. This framework is applied to relationships between mining companies and artisans in Katanga, a lowconflict Province of the DRC. Finally, CSR guidelines for the promotion of artisans' HR are formulated. The theoretical framework articulates a public policy approach – which includes different actors – and a CSR approach – which develops the specific role of one such actor: the company – in the promotion of artisanal miners' HR. Data used in the empirical part are qualitative and include primary data gathered from visits to different mining companies operating in the Province and an interview with a local specialist in artisanal miners. The first finding is that artisanal miners are a heterogeneous group, with multiple HR problems. Therefore, a public policy and a CSR policy to promote their HR are equally complex issues. However, local practices in the specific context of Katanga suggest two suitable CSR strategies for promoting artisans' HR: supporting new sustainable economic activities where artisans have been displaced by a company; and promoting the formalization of artisanal activity where companies are the artisans' clients. This paper does not include interviews with mining company managers in Katanga in order to design very specific actions in each one of these CSR strategies. The research does not include field work in highconflict areas. The heterogeneity and dynamism of artisanal miners' problems and the weakness of the Congolese State lead to a basic recommendation for responsible mining companies in lowconflict areas: the implementation of dialogues with local communities and local governments in order to cover the needs of artisanal miners and discover innovation opportunities for the companies. Although there is abundant literature on artisanal miners, the connection of artisanal miners and CSR has scarcely been developed. As far as the author knows, the illustration of this connection for the DRC has not been addressed. Additionally, the design of public policies for artisanal miners – part of the informal economy – and the contribution of companies to such policies can help address problems arising from other informal activities in Africa.
KW - Artisanal miners
KW - Corporate social responsibility
KW - Democratic Republic of the Congo
KW - Human rights
KW - Mining companies
KW - Mining industry
KW - Public policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84986105228&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/20400701211197320
DO - 10.1108/20400701211197320
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84986105228
SN - 2040-0705
VL - 3
SP - 137
EP - 150
JO - African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
JF - African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
IS - 1
ER -