Why human rights matter - Rio Tinto

Why human
rights matter
Case study 2
January 2013
Levie Moyo in the kraal
built by Murowa Diamond
Mine, which was a part
of the resettlement
farm facilities. These
were provided to ensure
resettled families could
maintain their traditional
livelihoods after
resettlement.
Negotiating and securing land
Following negotiations, Rio Tinto identified and
purchased six blocks of land totalling 15,000
hectares, known as the ‘Shashe Block’, in the
nearby Masvingo Province to develop a new
resettlement community. However, due to the
Zimbabwe Government’s ‘Land Reform and
Resettlement Programme’, a large number of
Masvingo families had already commenced settling
on the same blocks of land Rio Tinto had intended
for the Murowa resettlement. Although Rio Tinto
needed to uphold its commitments to the Murowa
resettlers, Rio Tinto did not want to evict the
Masvingo families living on the Shashe Block or
adversely impact upon their right to land. Rio Tinto
recognised that the resettlement plan would need
to be revised in order to address potential adverse
impacts on all stakeholders, including the Masvingo
families. As a result Rio Tinto undertook two years
of extensive negotiations and achieved a common
solution which allowed for both Masvingo and
Murowa families to resettle in the Shashe Block.
Throughout the process of securing land, Rio Tinto
maintained transparency with the government,
the communities and the landowners and ensured
that all perspectives were heard. Though the
successful resettlement of the Murowa community
was a priority, Rio Tinto also recognised the rights
of other nearby communities and the impact
resettlement would have on them. As a result,
a mutually-agreed resettlement solution was
achieved that minimised impacts on the human
rights of all affected stakeholders.
Outcome
By 2003, Rio Tinto had relocated all Murowa families’
moveable assets to Shashe and compensated them
for any additional losses. To improve the livelihoods
of the resettled community, Rio Tinto also built a
school, a rural health centre, housing for teachers
and nurses, a church, roads and water provision
in Shashe for the benefit of all stakeholders living
there. Within one year of resettlement, farmers
reported better harvests in Shashe than those
achieved at their original community in Murowa.
At the handover of the resettlement scheme to
the government at the end of 2003, Rio Tinto
committed to a ‘Communities Action Plan’ working
with local authorities to provide health, training and
agricultural capacity building programmes for ten
years after resettlement.
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