Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

188 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
the Inspection Panel or the CAO can be read in Section IV of
the International Federation for Human Rights’ “Corporate
Accountability and Human Rights Abuses.” The publication
also covers other multilateral development banks. 49
So, although it is not guaranteed, there will be public
funding associated with any project; if there is such funding,
it is likely to provide new partners and new opportunities for
complaints and campaigning.
Vedanta Resources in Orissa
By Roger Moody, Nostromo Research
Vedanta Resources floated on the London Stock Exchange in December
2003 on a prospectus to potential shareholders, which was inadequate—
to the point of misrepresentation. Concerns were raised at the time, not
least about Anil Agarwal, Vedanta’s progenitor, majority shareowner and
executive chairman. 50
Since then the company has gone on to become, by May 2011, the
world’s 17th largest publicly-listed mining company 51 Meanwhile those
early misgivings have been borne out by the company’s appalling record
of violations and mismanagement in the succeeding years.
Vedanta is indeed an intrinsically “bad actor” (a concept soon to be
discussed by the US Securities Exchange Commission as it works on
implementing one of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act), 52
In 2007 Norway’s Council on Ethics released the results of a two-year
examination of Vedanta’s operations, primarily those in the Indian state
of Orissa (see below). It concluded that “[C]ontinuing to invest in the…
company would present an unacceptable risk of contributing to grossly
unethical activities.” 53
In response to this indictment, the Norwegian Government Pension Fund
sold all its Vedanta shares (valued at around US$13 million). An open
invitation had already been extended by the Council to Vedanta to refute
its findings and, at any future point, demonstrate a radical improvement
in its modus operandi, at which time the Council would consider reversing
its earlier stance. Vedanta has failed to do so, and the company remains
“blacklisted.” 54
Norway is not the only government concerned at allegations of Vedanta’s
behavior. In the second half of 2010, Agarwal had inked an agreement