"Getting to 'no' in mining and community consent", 24 Nov. 2015

When it comes to community consultation policies, mining companies are moving in the right direction – but one thing continues to be a sticking point: the ability of communities to say “no.”...

[It's now] relatively common for mining companies to discuss and make commitments to respect community and indigenous rights...And recently, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)...released an update of its good practice guide on indigenous peoples and mining...

And in their 2013 statement, they took an important step by embracing Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)...FPIC processes enable communities to have a real say in not only how, but whether...projects move forward. Oxfam’s recently released Community Consent Index found that mining company commitments to FPIC have increased significantly... 

Disappointingly...[ICMM's] guidance remains silent on...respect for a community’s decision to say “no”... ICMM...acknowledges that FPIC processes must enable indigenous peoples to “give or withhold their consent...” but...[only] requires them to “work to” obtain consent and then determine themselves “whether they ought to remain involved...”  This gives companies far too much discretion, and in many ways makes the entire consultation process worth very little.