Peruvian villagers suing Glencore

Peruvian villagers suing miner Glencore would argue in the High Court in London next week that the company should be held liable over their allegations they were abused by Peruvian police, the law firm representing them said.

Peruvian villagers suing miner Glencore will argue in the High Court in London next week that the company should be held liable over their alleged abuse by Peruvian police, the law firm representing them said on Tuesday.

The allegations, to be presented in a 10-day hearing that starts on Monday, illustrates potential legal risks for mining companies that sign pacts with Peruvian police for the provision of security services.

The lawsuit by 22 Peruvians said that Xstrata, acquired by Glencore in 2013, failed to take reasonable steps to prevent abuses by police in deadly protests at the Tintaya copper mine in 2012, said London law firm Leigh Day.

Xstrata paid, fed and provided lodging for police and knew or should have known that Peru’s police tend to use excessive force, Leigh Day said.

Glencore said Xstrata was not responsible for steps taken by the Peruvian National Police (PNP) in policing the protests and noted that the lawsuit did not allege that Xstrata or the mine’s private security force had harmed anyone.

Xstrata “appealed to the PNP to respect the human rights of protesters before and during the protest”, Glencore said. Like many mining companies in Peru, Xstrata had signed an agreement with the PNP for the provision of security services at Tintaya, which stopped operating in 2013.