American companies must recognize human rights, the United Nations Charter, and the right of nations to their own natural resources – BVJ
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Rampant street crimes leave residents of Khuzdar in fear and helplessness
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US Congress members write to Blinken about Pakistan’s crisis
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Baloch Students Council Condemns Attack on Baloch Students at Punjab University Lahore
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Brave Baloch warrior, Shari Baloch is laid to rest
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Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) expresses grave concern over the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the American company US Strategic Metals and the Pakistani paramilitary organization Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for the exploration and extraction of important minerals in Pakistan. This agreement is a continuation of an exploitative process that violates the rights of local populations and raises the risk of increased human rights abuses in the region.
Under the United Nations Charter and various international human rights treaties, all nations have the inalienable right to self-determination and permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1803 clearly states:
“The peoples of any territory have the right to freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources.”
The right to resources belongs to the local nations, not to the military or any armed institution — therefore, any agreement made with them should be considered unacceptable according to international principles.
Unfortunately, regions such as Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh have suffered for decades from economic exploitation, political repression, and state terrorism. Projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and now this agreement with the American company, have all been made without the free, prior, and informed consent of the local communities — a fundamental principle of international law, especially for historically marginalized peoples.
Specifically, in Balochistan, rare earth elements, copper, and gold — vital minerals for global high-tech industries — are being extracted under military control, while enforced disappearances, displacement, and environmental destruction continue.
The direct partnership of an American company with a military organization like the FWO raises serious ethical, legal, and human rights concerns. Such agreements deepen the trust gap between the state and the people, and increase public resistance and hatred against foreign powers perceived to be complicit in exploitation.
Baloch Voice for Justice calls on the international community, the United Nations, and global human rights organizations to:
Ensure that no foreign company in Pakistan engages in mineral or development agreements without the free, prior, and informed consent of local populations.
Recognize the rights of the Baloch, Sindhi, and Pashtun nations to sovereignty over their natural resources and to benefit from them in accordance with international law.
Conduct independent and impartial investigations into human rights violations, environmental destruction, and the militarization of development projects in Balochistan and other regions.
Urge the US government and American companies to avoid partnerships with military organizations that have records of human rights abuses.
We reiterate that genuine and sustainable development is only possible when it is based on justice, transparency, inclusion, and respect for human rights — not on oppression, militarization, and the exploitation of subjugated nations.
