NEWS

05.02.08
ICMM - IUCN Indigenous Peoples Roundtable held in Sydney

ICMM's Aidan Davy and Claire White participated in a two-day Roundtable on Mining and Indigenous Peoples Issues which took place in Sydney, Australia from 30-31 January. The meeting was jointly organized by ICMM and IUCN as part of the ongoing dialogue between both organizations. It built upon the dialogue and relationships established during an earlier Roundtable in November 2005.

The 2008 Roundtable included participation by: five ICMM member companies (AngloGold Ashanti, BHP Billiton, Freeport McMoRan, Newmont Mining and Rio Tinto) an association member, the Minerals Council of Australia; IUCN and three other NGOs representing Indigenous Peoples interests internationally; ten Indigenous Peoples Representatives from nine countries in Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania; and one government ombudsman representative from Peru.

The two days of discussion focussed on implementation issues relating to: consultation and engagement; achieving broad community support; seeking agreement on programs to achieve net social benefits; and operationalizing free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). Overall, the feedback from Roundtable participants was very positive with many highlighting the importance of such a dialogue continuing.

A report from the Roundtable will be available publicly at the start of March pending approval from all participants. In addition, the final version of ICMM's Position Statement on Mining and Indigenous Peoples Issues aims to move beyond high level principles to give more clarity and specificity. The current version is based on feedback received from the draft version of the Statement from the ICMM membership and was circulated to participants at the Roundtable. ICMM aims to have the Position Statement finalized by May 2008.

For more information contact Aidan Davy.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Good Practice Guide: Indigenous Peoples and Mining
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

Principle 03:

Uphold fundamental human rights and respect cultures, customs and values in dealings with employees and others who are affected by our activities.

Principle 09:

Contribute to the social, economic and institutional development of the communities in which we operate.

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