May 2009, International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)
ICMM’s view is that respect for human rights is a key aspect of sustainable development. One of the principles adopted by our Council of CEO’s in 2003 was that members should “uphold fundamental human rights and respect customs, cultures and values”. As an organization, we have committed to helping to advance industry good practice on human rights, and this publication is the first of a number that we have planned to help deliver on this commitment.
Our overall objective here is to provide an overview of the main challenges and dilemmas that companies in the mining and metals sector are often faced with.
More specifically we review management approaches that member companies have applied to dealing with human rights challenges.
The main audience for the guidance is ICMM’s members and other interested companies in the mining industry.
The publication aims to:
- Outline the various elements of the SD Framework relating to human rights (in addition to a core set of 10 Principles, the Framework also comprises a number of ICMM Position Statements and detailed reporting and assurance requirements1);
- Highlight key pressure points of relevance to business and human rights, as well as some relevant external tools and initiatives; and
- Briefly document approaches to dealing with human rights issues adopted by a number of ICMM members in order to facilitate the spread of good practice.
