... The International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) report correctly identifies IRMA's commitment to equity in multistakeholder leadership. This governance model creates the fundamental tenets of IRMA that we believe directly serve accountability to indigenous peoples ... The IWGIA and IPRI report recognizes that IRMA has the most advanced standard in the extractive sector with regard to indigenous peoples’ rights. The report also notes that a specific IRMA protocol is lacking for existing mines, where no FPIC is required, but FPIC will only be required in case of substantial changes to the modus operandi...

Later this year, IRMA will be embarking on a revision to its 2018 Standard, so the time is appropriate for IRMA to revisit the question of if and how aspects of FPIC might be measured at existing mines. Our own multi-stakeholder membership, as well as diverse stakeholders globally, will be included in the discussions so that our revised standard reflects best practices in FPIC and application for the mining sector.

In addition to the IRMA Mining Standard’s Chapter 2.2 on Free, Prior and Informed Consent, the Mining Standard includes detailed chapters on Human Rights Due Diligence (Chapter 1.3), Complaints and Grievance Mechanism and Access to Remedy (Chapter 1.4), and Cultural Heritage (Chapter 3.7). As mentioned above, we are also about to release the draft IRMA Ready Standard (for before a mine is operating) for public consultation, and are currently in public consultation on the IRMA draft Mineral Processing Standard (for mineral processing after material leaves the mine). We will also soon finalize the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard. This will support tracking of materials and verifying of claims on responsible sourcing downstream of the mine as materials go into end products...