Dutch banks pay too  little attention to human rights when making investments. Banks including ABN Amro and ING have a stake in oil and mining companies but rarely speak out about their human rights violations, revealed Amnesty International and Oxfam in their Fair Bank Guide on Monday.

The guide investigates Dutch bank investments in oil giant Shell, British mining company Vedanta Resources and Canadian gold mining company Barrick Gold. 

Abuses
Shell is held responsible for massive pollution of the Niger Delta. Vedanta Resources is involved in bauxite mining in India which has displaced indigenous Kondh people. Barrick Gold operates the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea, where police have forced hundreds from their homes and destroyed property. 

Few banks pressure companies to improve human rights or take offenses into account, says Amnesty International’s Eduard Nazarski.

Most responsible
SNS Bank no longer invests with Barrick Gold and Vedanta Resources and they have begun intensive dialogue with Shell. ASN, Friesland Bank and Triodos score the highest in the Fair Bank Guide because they do not invest in any of the three companies because of their poor human rights records.

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