UK Court Issues Warning On Human Rights Violations In Sierra Leone

Risk managers are advised to take a cautious approach as the UK Court of Appeal decision in the African Minerals case serves as a warning to companies engaging third parties when operating abroad, particularly in countries with poor human rights records. It also highlights the trend for such cases to be brought before the UK courts.

Kadie Kalma & Ors v African Minerals Ltd & Ors [2020] concerned liability for human rights breaches by Sierra Leonean police following civil unrest at the defendants' mine. In all, 142 claimants sought to hold AML (which owned and operated the mine) and co-defendants responsible for the police's actions.

The Claimants argued that the Defendants were liable through vicarious liability, accessory liability and negligence. The High Court found that the Defendants had not been vicariously liable, had not intended the police to use excessive force (so there was no accessory liability by common design), and had not breached any duty of