UN Experts To Contribute In Zambian Lead Poisoning Case

A top South African court Friday granted UN experts a role in proceedings against mining giant Anglo American, which is being sued for alleged lead poisoning in Zambia

Johannesburg, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Nov, 2022 ) :A top South African court Friday granted UN experts a role in proceedings against mining giant Anglo American, which is being sued for alleged lead poisoning in Zambia.

Decades of lead mining have left Kabwe, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) north of the Zambian capital Lusaka, severely polluted, with serious health impacts on residents.

A lawsuit filed in 2020 in South Africa accuses the South African subsidiary of Anglo American of poisoning thousands of people in Kabwe.

Three UN special rapporteurs -- on toxics and human rights, extreme poverty, and persons with disability -- will now be admitted to the legal proceedings.

Two UN working groups -- one on discrimination against women and girls, and the other on business and human rights -- also secured a role in the case as "friends of the court".

Anglo American's spokesman in South Africa told AFP the company had noted the court's decision.

Amnesty International experts had also been brought on board earlier this year, he said, "which we consented to in line with the interests of justice".

Two years ago, a group of 13 Zambian women and children filed the suit against Anglo American, alleging its lead operations in Kabwe caused widespread poisoning.