A/HRC/42/CRP.3 wholly owned subsidiary Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd, with MEHL entitled to 51 per cent of profits and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper Ltd. entitled to 49 per cent of profits. 346 143. The Mission was able to identify 14 foreign companies that have joint ventures with Tatmadaw conglomerates. In some joint ventures, foreign companies invest in MEHL or MEC companies, in exchange for equity. In others, foreign companies and MEHL or MEC companies jointly form new business enterprises. In the extractive sector, MEHL or MEC provide a license or permit and take a share in the joint venture. The joint venture partners have provided investment capital and have been responsible for running the business. 347 Some joint ventures between foreign companies and Tatmadaw conglomerates are transparent, such as the 70 per cent stake of Posco Steel Co., Ltd., a South Korean steel company, in Myanmar Posco Steel Company Ltd., a MEHL company.348 Other business partnerships are traceable through corporate structures and leadership. For example, the Mission has documented a commercial parternship between Thilawa Cement and Building Materials Ltd. and Sinminn Cement, a MEHL subsidiary.349 Thilawa Cement and Building Materials Ltd., according to corporate filings, is listed as being owned by Lafarge,350 which since 2015 merged into LafargeHolcim, a French-Swiss company and the world’s largest cement manufacturer.351 According to corporate records, Thilawa Cement and Building Materials Ltd., and SinMinn Cement, the MEHL subsidiary, share board leadership.352 144. Other foreign companies are engaged with MEHL, MEC and their subsidiaries more directly, paying Tatmadaw conglomerates for the use of their property. A stark example is that of Adani Group, of India, which is leasing land in Yangon from MEC for 50 years for USD 290 million for the construction of Ahlone International Port Terminal 2.353 The Mission has been unable to establish the origin of MEC’s ownership of this land. Other examples 354 raise serious concerns that foreign companies are leasing MEHL, MEC or Tatmadaw-owned property for significant sums, without facing due scrutiny as to how their payments are benefitting the Tatmadaw. Legal and policy findings 145. The Mission finds that any foreign business activity involving the Tatmadaw and its conglomerates MEHL and MEC poses a high risk of contributing to, or being linked to, violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law. At a minimum, these foreign companies are contributing to supporting the Tatmadaw’s financial capacity. 146. Given this situation, the absence of security sector reform and the persistent lack of accountability documented in its 2018 report, the Mission concludes on reasonable grounds that the activities of these foreign companies and foreign SOEs dealing with the Tatmadaw and its conglomerates have a reasonably foreseeable adverse impact on the situation of human rights in relation to Myanmar. States hosting these foreign companies and SOEs therefore have a heightened duty to take appropriate legislative and other measures to ensure that the companies’ and SOEs’ activities are consistent with the State’s human rights obligations and responsibilities. The Mission similarly concludes that foreign companies and SOEs involved with the Tatmadaw and its conglomerates MEHL and MEC should sever their relationships with these enterprises in light of the information presented in this report and should ensure that they are fulfilling their corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Those in commercial relationships with MEHL or MEC may find themselves complicit, in 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 See Annex V. Foreign companies in commercial partnerships with MEHL and MEC. Digital record 2005. See Annex V. Foreign companies in commercial partnerships with MEHL and MEC. SinMinn Cement Limited filing with the Government of Myanmar’s official corporate registry, DICA. On file with the Mission. Digital record 1922. Lafarge Holcim (https://www.lafargeholcim.com/). OpenCorporates database entry: Company number: 2198-2014-2015, Sinminn Cement Industry Company Limited (https://opencorporates.com/companies/mm/2198-2014-2015). Digital record 2008; “Local reports put the investment committed by Adani at $290 million,” PTI New Delhi, 14 May 2019 (https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/adani-group-todevelop-container-terminal-port-in-myanmar/article27124926.ece). See paragraph 67 for more information on MEHL, MEC and Tatmadaw real estate ownership. 51