London, April 6 (RHC)-- Hundreds of British companies operating abroad may be implicated in various human rights abuses such as forced labor, beatings and environmental damage, a report warns.

The report by the international NGO, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre said 303 UK-based companies have been contacted by its representatives about allegations of human rights abuses since 2005, with the majority of accusations reported in the Global South.

According to the report, British firms operating within the extractive industry, such as mining and oil and gas, require particularly “urgent attention,” as “these companies are often implicated in some of the most egregious allegations of human rights abuses including displacements, killings, and large-scale pollution.”

Among the reported cases are the British firm Glencore’s conduct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it extracts copper and cobalt among other minerals. Last year, the company was accused of contaminating local communities’ water supplies and forcing child labor. The firm was also linked to brutal beatings and killings by police. Glencore has denied the allegations.