ICMM company members commit to respect human rights and the interests cultures, customs and values of employees and communities affected by our activities.
ICMM members undertake to uphold the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and to cooperate in processes that remedy adverse impacts on the rights of employees and local communities.
Performance Expectations
Developed with extensive input from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), international organisations and academics, our Mining Principles establish baseline performance expectations for a responsible mining and metals industry. ICMM's Mining Principles include eight Performance Expectations under Principle 3: Human Rights.
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3.1: Respect human rights
Support the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights by developing a policy commitment to respect human rights, undertaking human rights due diligence and providing for, or cooperating in processes to enable the remediation of adverse human rights impacts that members have caused or contributed to.
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3.2: Avoid involuntary resettlement
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3.3: Manage security while protecting human rights
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3.4: Respect the rights of workers
Respect the rights of workers by: not employing child or forced labour; avoiding human trafficking; not assigning hazardous/dangerous work to those under 18; eliminating harassment and discrimination; respecting freedom of association and collective bargaining; and providing a mechanism to address workers grievances.
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3.5: Provide fair pay and working hours
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3.6: Respect Indigenous Peoples
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3.7: Work to obtain free, prior and informed consent
Work to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples where significant adverse impacts are likely to occur, as a result of relocation, disturbance of lands and territories or of critical cultural heritage, and capture the outcomes of engagement and consent processes in agreements.
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3.8: Promote workplace diversity
About ICMM's Mining Principles
ICMM’s Mining Principles strengthen social and environmental requirements, on issues such as labour rights, resettlement, gender, access to grievance mechanisms, mine closure, pollution and waste.

Supporting global goals
As momentum behind the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continues to grow, there is mounting pressure on the private sector to support the delivery of a wide variety of development objectives. ICMM’s Mining Principles can support the mining and metals industry in addressing climate change, ending poverty and tackling rising inequalities.
Each SDG connects with or can be directly influenced by ICMM’s Mining Principles. Unlike many other sectors, there is no primary point of connection between mining and a single SDG. Instead, operations have the extraordinary potential to contribute to several goals at once. The contribution mining products to almost every aspect of life is arguably becoming more important than ever – with metals and minerals enabling the innovations needed to deliver pathways to a greener, safer and more sustainable future.