Mining company Anglo-American has decided to take a more proactive approach with governments on human rights. The pledge, made in Good Citizenship, a report that details Anglo-American’s community work, said that while the primary responsibility for upholding human rights lies with governments, “where it is within our power to do so, we will seek to promote the observance of human rights in the countries where we operate”.

Edward Bickham, Anglo American’s head of external affairs, stated that this pledge was in line with the company’s policy towards the communities in which it invests. He added that the company had ceased exploratory missions in countries with questionable human rights records.

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But Anglo-American still invests in Zimbabwe due to strong Southern African ties and Mr Bickham emphasised that disinvestment was not always the right way to do things as it could do more harm than good.

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