Daily Times

The COP21 — also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference — was monumental in mobilising governments to submit their “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions” (INDCs) — a public outline of what post-2020 climate actions they will take under the new international agreement — to the UNFCCC secretariat. While many of the INDCs, particularly from coal intensive countries, pledge to divest from fossil fuels to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is important to note that not only will this divestment take time, but also that countries such as Pakistan, which has yet to submit its INDC, will continue to invest in coal to meet the needs of its energy-starved population. This will have human rights impacts not only for the health and safety of the miners currently working in Pakistan’s coalfields, and the hundreds more that are to be employed, but also for communities who reside near the coalfields, and for whom it is an integral part of their identity. Additionally, communities living in close proximity to the coal-fired power plants are at risk of their basic rights to clean air and clean environments being compromised.

The mining industry in Pakistan is possibly one of the most unregulated in Pakistan’s economy despite its considerable contribution to the GDP, estimated to be at three percent. In terms of coal reserves, while the recent discovery of the coalfield in Thar is currently being celebrated as the answer to Pakistan’s energy crisis, the country has a number of reserves of coal in different parts of the country that have been mined for generations. In Sindh, coal has been found in Thar, Lakhra, Sandra Jherruck, Meting Jhimpir, Indus East and Badin; in Balochistan in the Sor Range/Degari, Khost, Mach and Duki; in Punjab the Salt Range, and Makarwal; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cherat and Hungu, and in Azad Kashmir in Kotli. In Punjab alone, there are 2,600 registered mines, and in Duki alone there are more than 380. However, the industry is characterised by fragmented ownership. While there are government and privately owned and operated coal mines in Pakistan, there are also many individual, and sometimes illegal, owners of coal mines, which means that there is limited information regarding the number of mines operating in the country, and even more limited information regarding the labour involved in these mines.

As well as being signatory to a number of global treaties on human rights relating to labour, Pakistan has four national level laws related to health, safety and welfare of workers engaged in mining and quarrying, specifically the Mines Act 1923, Mines Maternity Benefits Act 1941, Coal Mines (Fixation of Rates and Wages) Ordinance 1960, and the Excise Duty on Mineral (Labour) Welfare Act 1967. However, due to a lack of implementation of these laws and the unregulated nature of the mining industry, between January 2010 and March 2016, over 228 miners have been killed in mining accidents in Pakistan, with limited data on the number of injured people in these incidents. This is coupled with numerous health considerations; a study of Pakistani miners health in Cherat, Nowshera district states that 71 percent of miners suffer from respiratory health issues, whilst 49.5 percent have pneumoconiosis (Journal of Postgraduate Medicine Institute).

Many of these coal miners are ethnic Pashtuns, and since most of Pakistan’s coal is situated in Sindh and Balochistan, these workers, including children in some cases, migrate far from their homes from rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to earn a living. However, a 2015 study on the State of Human Rights stated that a large number of miners, according to the Pakistan Standard of Living Measurement survey, earned less than the minimum wage per month, which is Rs 13,154, while 41.31 percent of workers earned between Rs. 5,000 and 10,000 per month.

Working mostly in poorly developed coalmines, and due to the use of outdated procedures, rudimentary or inefficient manual and semi-mechanised mining methods workers are exposed to the risk of fatal and non-fatal accidents. In February 2015, eight miners were killed and 14 injured when a coalmine in Dukki, Loralai, collapsed after a methane gas explosion. While a senior official at the time claimed that a mines inspector had already warned the coalmine owner that there was a high concentration of methane in the mine that could lead to a deadly incident, it is unknown why the mine was not shut down as soon as that was discovered. Similarly, during an inspection by the Chief Inspectorate of Mines of the 2,600 mines in the Punjab, where 784 inspections had been conducted, it was discovered that mine workers were not provided with even basic protective gear. Accommodation provided to mine workers is also usually of substandard quality, as is the occasional healthcare.

Besides industrial accidents, coal miners have also been plagued by acts of violence. In January 2015, unknown armed men kidnapped five miners from a coalmine operated by the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation in Sor Range, near Quetta. Moreover, 23 workers were arrested from the Lakhra coalmines during a campaign against illegal immigrants under Pakistan’s National Action Plan. It is clear that not only are owners of coalmines failing to protect the rights of their workers — be it health, safety and security — but also that government is failing to adequately inspect and take action against unsafe practices in the industry.

The build-up to the COP 21 in Paris last year, as well as at the conference itself, saw what might be one of the largest movements of human rights activists advocating for the inclusion of human rights into the final text of the agreement. The final text was disappointing for most advocates of human rights, who feel that it does not adequately address concerns raised by civil society and indigenous communities on how the changing climate will impact their basic human rights, particularly those relating to health, access to resources and clean water, among others. Although many countries have pledged to divest from coal, few have linked their continued investment in coal with human rights, particularly of the labour involved in mining. The arguments supporting divestment from coal in Pakistan are no longer confined to just the climate implications but also human rights.

As a first step, it is crucial for Pakistan to commit to and ratify the ILO’s Safety and Health in Mines Convention 1995, as well as following the 2006 ILO Code on Safety and Health in underground Coal Mines. Government must also commit to a more stringent and thorough implementation of the existing policies relating to mining in Pakistan, including stricter inspections by qualified inspectors and ensuring that minimum wage is met. Action must be taken against those who are not ensuring the safety of their workers, whilst the LEAs must support the industry in the prevention of violence against its workers.

As Pakistan races towards the finish line in developing its mega coal plant in Thar, under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, there is little hope that it will reconsider the projects based on its impacts on the climate and potential impacts on human rights. While the developers of coal plants have promised to generate employment through the construction of these coalmines and then through the extraction process of the coal, not enough attention has been paid to the conditions in which these workers will be working. The project is already being criticised as many feel that China is simply offloading its outdated technologies to Pakistan. Whether or not that is the case, the time is right for Pakistani human rights activists to push for better conditions for mine workers in Thar.

The writer is a freelance columnist and a climate change activist working in the development sector