Frontline community defenders from the Global Majority united in Luxembourg to challenge steelmakers ArcelorMittal and Ternium on Tuesday, 6th May, the day of their AGMs, to demand an end to a culture of corporate impunity.

The delegation is part of the Fair Steel Coalition, a global network of civil society organisations, including those representing frontline communities and families of those forcibly disappeared. The day of action was part of a Europe-wide advocacy tour, as community defenders step up pressure on the steel giants, the banks that finance them, and key EU governments, to demand an end to decades of climate devastation, corporate impunity and human rights abuse.

One year after the group's initial attempts to engage with ArcelorMittal and Ternium, both companies have failed to take responsibility. Ternium has refused to even meet with the Fair Steel Coalition. ArcelorMittal has yet to resolve the serious human rights and climate concerns the Coalition brought to the company, and in the past year, it has backtracked on its climate commitments.

Solidarity walk of the defenders: “No more excuses, no more delays” 

On Tuesday, 6 May, as Ternium’s Annual General Meeting began, representatives of the families of disappeared activists, environmental defenders and community leaders from Brazil, Liberia, Mexico, South Africa and Bosnia & Herzegovina gathered in front of the company’s headquarters in Luxembourg. Global Rights Advocacy (GRA) and Seattle University International Human Rights Clinic have filed an OECD complaint against Ternium, citing its failure to meaningfully engage with the families of Antonio Diaz Valencia and Ricardo Lagunes Gasca, disappeared environmental defenders in Mexico, and to properly investigate its operations in the country.

Alejandra Gonza, Director of GRA, said, "It's time that the company sits down with us, and we need Luxembourg authorities to make it happen.”

Outside Ternium’s headquarters, the group held banners and called for an end to years of corporate impunity. 

Ana Luisa Queiroz gave a powerful speech criticising Ternium’s practices in Brazil, calling for justice and urgent remedy, declaring “Profit ends up here in Luxembourg, meanwhile we’re left with literal dust in Brazil.”

Flyers were also distributed to Ternium employees and passersby, exposing Ternium’s role in over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following the announcement, the group walked to the Ministry of Economy to reiterate the call of 350 civil society organisations: to demand corporate accountability and stop the culture of impunity and disregard for local communities. There, community defenders urged Luxembourg ministers to save the CSDDD - an EU directive that would allow communities to hold companies like Ternium and ArcelorMittal accountable in court.

Reaching their final destination outside ArcelorMittal’s headquarters, the group raised their voices against ArcelorMittal’s shameless backtracking over the last year. Performers demonstrated 'backtracking' outside the company's HQ, to the backdrop of the activists and their banners.

Fair Steel Coalition members then attended the AGM, asked questions, and met with senior executives.

Speaking afterwards, John Brownell from Green Advocates Liberia, said: “I went to the AGM with pages of grievances from families across 3 counties. They answered my question by discussing their investment in jobs and hospitals, but did not address these harmful impacts. My next step is to send the full list of grievances from the lack of community consultation to the impacts on livelihoods. We now expect action and always free prior and informed consent.”

Eduardo Mosqueda, director of Tskini said, “I asked why ArcelorMittal has not engaged meaningfully with the coalition since we met last May. In response, a senior executive committed to even more formal communication links. True dialogue must happen, and must lead to an action plan that drives real change.”

Caroline Ashley, Executive Director of SteelWatch, added: “Today confirmed that ArcelorMittal is in the back seat, not the driving seat of decarbonisation. AGM day should be the day to seek shareholder support for big strategic decisions. Serious action in line with the climate crisis and the climate footprint of the company needs a new strategy and serious investment. There was absolutely no sign of that today.”

Notes

1. Local communities have been forced to live with the negative impacts of steel plants and mining, including increased rates of health issues like respiratory problems and heart complications, as documented in the Fair Steel Coalition’s ‘The Real Cost of Steel’ report last year. The report highlighted the environmental racism underlying corporate impunity in steel companies, as the corporations have different standards for the global majority. These frontline communities have been constantly bringing their concerns about the lack of monitoring and need for remedies for health and livelihood issues, but have been met with constant failure to tackle these problems seriously. 

2. Last year, community defenders met with ArcelorMittal and its financiers, including banks like ING, BNP Paribas, and Crédit Agricole. However, since then, ArcelorMittal and its financiers have failed to engage meaningfully with the coalition of organisations, taking no steps towards real accountability. 

3. Ternium has refused to even listen to the Fair Steel Coalition’s concerns. When representatives attempted to deliver the landmark report ‘The Real Co$t of Steel’ to Ternium executives, they were met with closed doors. This persistent refusal to adequately engage shows a flagrant disregard for the thousands of people directly affected by a lack of corporate accountability in the steel sector. As the industry’s two biggest players, ArcelorMittal and Ternium must do far more to address this impunity.

4. Community defenders will continue their European advocacy tour to seek accountability and meet with policymakers and the banks that finance ArcelorMittal and Ternium in Brussels and the Netherlands next. 

5. Photos and videos can be found here. Credit © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / SteelWatch / Fair Steel Coalition

6. The full list of organisations participating in the advocacy tour: 

• Global Rights Advocacy
• Environmental Defender Law Center
• Instituto PACS
• Tsikini 
• Green Advocates International
• V.E.J.A
• SteelWatch
• Eko forum Zenica
• Martha Trindade Collective
• BankTrack
• Groundwork
• Initiative pour le devoir de vigilance