John,

Mark Bristow is a trophy hunter who proudly poses for pictures with the elephants, lions, and cheetahs he kills. As an officer in South Africa’s apartheid army in the 1970s, he fought against Namibian liberation fighters. He has a history of lashing out against Africans who say that colonialism and apartheid are the root cause of the continent’s economic problems.

And now Mark Bristow is the CEO of Barrick Gold, one of the largest and most powerful mining companies in the world. His primary focus as CEO has been on building mines in new areas without community consent and despite human rights and environmental concerns.

With Mark Bristow at the helm, the oppressive violence, perpetual water pollution, violations of Indigenous Rights, and destroyed livelihoods allegedly caused by Barrick’s mines is spreading faster and further. And that is why we must stop him before it is too late.

Tell Barrick Gold’s Board of Directors to fire Mark Bristow now.

During the recent Barrick shareholder meeting, human rights defender Lateef Johar from the Balochistan region in Pakistan asked a question about Barrick’s new Reko Diq mining agreements with Pakistani central government officials allegedly responsible for ‘enforced disappearances,’ torture, and murder in his community. The agreement was signed without the consent of the local people.

Instead of addressing Lateef’s concerns, Mark Bristow responded with an insulting and racist tirade -- trying to use Lateef's asylum status to discredit and undermine him. And then, as he had Lateef taken out of the room by security, Bristow yelled after him to “go back to Balochistan.”

Lateef escaped to Canada after his human rights advocacy caught the attention of the Pakistani government, and it was clear that his life was at risk.

If this is how Bristow treats a community member in front of his Board, shareholders, and the media, one can only imagine how bad his behavior is when the spotlight isn’t on him. But unless enough people speak out against Bristow, he will get away with this racist outburst. And whatever racist decisions he is making behind closed doors.

Sign the petition to demand that the Barrick Board of Directors fire Mark Bristow and prove it doesn't condone racism.

Over 50,000 Ekō members have signed petitions calling on governments to deny Barrick Gold permits to expand mining operations in their countries. By signing this petition, you will help show that the world is turning against Barrick Gold and its racist CEO who has such little regard for the environment that he kills elephants for fun. If government officials sense that Barrick is a toxic partner, then it will be easier to convince them to deny the mining permits.