Our colleagues at Peace Brigades International (PBI) UK Section have produced a report titled Overdue Diligence: Why Human Rights Defenders Still Need a UK Law on Due Diligence (October 2026).
This new report by PBI-UK comments: “To truly disrupt the trend of ongoing violence, ensure the sustainability of UK business and position the UK as a leader on corporate accountability, the UK Government should act now and commit to a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act in order to hold companies to account when they fail to prevent, identify or respond to human rights abuses and environmental harms in their operations and global value chains.”
Among the 91 Members of Parliament and Peers supporting the Good Business Matters pledge for this legislation include two Independent MPs whose names may be familiar to Canadian readers: Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn.
PBI-UK also notes that civil society is also in the process of outlining proposals for such laws in Canada. You can read more about the call for The Corporate Respect for Human Rights and the Environment Abroad Act here.
Below you will find key excerpts from the PBI-UK case studies along with our additional context highlighting Canadian links to these companies.
1- Mexico – Soledad-Dipolos gold mine
“Between 2010 and 2013, Minera Penmont, a Mexican subsidiary of Fresnillo PLC, a UK-incorporated company listed on the London Stock Exchange, operated the Soledad-Dipolos open-pit gold mine on communal ejido lands at the El Bajío Ejido in Sonora, Mexico without the community’s consent.”
Fresnillo now also operates in Canada. In January 2026 Fresnillo plc completed its purchase of Toronto-based Probe Gold Inc. that, according to the company, “provides immediate access to the prolific Val d’Or district in Quebec.”
The top holders of shares in Fresnillo PLC can be found here.
2- West Papua – Grasberg gold and copper mine
“The Grasberg Mine in West Papua has been the site of serious and sustained human rights violations against local communities and activists for decades. One of the largest gold and copper mining operations in the world, it is operated by PT Freeport Indonesia; a joint venture between US multinational Freeport-McMoRan (48.76%) and Indonesian state entity PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (51.24%). However, British-Australian multinational mining company Rio Tinto had a production sharing contract for the Grasberg mine from 1996-2018.”
Rio Tinto also operates in Canada. Rio Tinto says: “We are Canada’s largest mining and metals company with people driving progress coast to coast.”
Rio Tinto was at PDAC 2026 in Toronto and is likely to attend this mining convention again on March 7-10, 2027.
The top holders of shares in Freeport-McMoRan can be found here.
3- Colombia – Amerisur oil exploitation
“Oil exploitation by Amerisur, a former UK-listed PLC, reportedly caused pollution and spills in the fragile ecosystem of the Colombian Amazon. …Amerisur has since delisted from the UK and no longer has any UK corporate presence following its acquisition by another company, but the environmental and social legacy of its operations remain.”
Amerisur has been owned by GeoPark Ltd. since January 2020. In April 2025, InfoAmazonia noted: “[The Platanillo block within the municipality of Puerto Asis] is currently managed by La Nueva Amerisur, a subsidiary of GeoPark, which acquired the assets formerly held by Amerisur Resources.”
Calgary-based Gran Tierra Energy has been present in the Putumayo region since at least June 2010. In July 2025, NACLA reported: “Last year, the Canadian oil company Gran Tierra Energy announced the discovery of significant reserves in two regions of Putumayo where the company has been conducting exploration operations.”
Presently the Mocoa project of Vancouver-based Copper Giant Resources Corp. (formerly Libero Copper & Gold Corp.) is of significant concern. The Amazon Pearl Campesina Reserve Zone on the Putumayo River is downstream from Mocoa. PBI-Canada remains attentive to the risks faced by community members who oppose the Mocoa copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Putumayo.
4- Mexico – Eólica del Sur wind farm
“British bank HSBC was one of the original lenders to the Mareña Renovables project [in February 2012], a previous iteration of the wind park which had failed in the nearby community of San Dionisio del Mar [in Oaxaca], and remained so after this wind project evolved to become the Eólica del Sur wind farm [around 2013-2014].”
The Energia Eolica del Sur wind park was inaugurated in May 2019 with an investment of $1.2 billion dollars from the Japanese company Mitsubishi.
In March 2024, the Royal Bank of Canada acquired HSBC Canada for $13.5 billion. HSBC Bank Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of HSBC, was the seventh largest bank in Canada with corporate headquarters in Vancouver.
5- Colombia – Cerrejón coal mine
“From 2000 to 2022, Cerrejón was jointly owned by mining companies on the UK stock exchange: Anglo American, BHP and Glencore. The mine is now exclusively operated by Glencore.”
The top holders of shares in Glencore plc can be found here.
For many year Nova Scotia Power (NSP) and New Brunswick Power (NBP) have imported coal from the Cerrejón mine.
In November 2015, NB Media Co-op reported: “A Colombian union leader, lawyer and survivor of eight assassination attempts [Francisco Ramirez Cuellar with the Federation of Colombian Energy Sector Unions – FUNTRAENERGETICA] told a crowd gathered on November 24 in the province’s capital [Fredericton] that New Brunswickers have a responsibility to know about and act on the blood coal that is leaving his country and being sold to NB Power.”
In September 2022, NB Media Co-op continued to link the Cerrejón mine with coal imports by NB Power.
In September 2026, CTV News reported: “NB Power [has] signed agreements with domestic suppliers of sustainably sourced pellets made from wood and agricultural hemp [that] the Belledune Generating Station would need to replace the coal it currently uses, which is now purchased from foreign suppliers.”
The transition is expected to be completed by 2030.
The José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) has detailed human rights abuses and environmental pollution at Cerrejón.
Rosa Maria Mateus, a member of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective of Colombia (CAJAR), has described La Guajira, the department (province) where the Cerrejon mine is located, as “a region of sacrifice”.
We continue to follow this.
Photo: PBI-Colombia and PBI-Canada met with Rosa Maria Mateus at the CAJAR office in Bogota in July 2022.
Additional reading
–As communities prepare to oppose extractive projects, Canada reaffirms the ‘strengthening’ of the mining-energy sector in Colombia (PBI-Canada, October 21, 2026)
–PBI-United Kingdom report: “human rights defenders need a UK law on mandatory due diligence” (PBI-Canada, November 21, 2024)
–Bank of Montreal calls for due diligence legislation, but funds pipeline companies that criminalize Indigenous water protectors (PBI-Canada, November 23, 2022).
