"To Avoid Perpetuating Harm and Rights Violations, ICMM Must Correct its “Critically Weak” Indigenous Peoples’ Policy" 20 August, 2024

The Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy, or SIRGE Coalition urges ICMM to revise, correct and strengthen this statement to address critical gaps and shortcomings that threaten perpetuating the mining industry’s historical harms to Indigenous Peoples. Given that over half of all mining for energy transition minerals globally are on or near  the territories of Indigenous Peoples, ICMM must  ensure its members operate in a manner that fully respects and upholds the rights of Indigenous Peoples...

While the updated ICMM position statement acknowledges Indigenous Peoples’ rights, SIRGE notes that it allows for a wide degree of flexibility and interpretation potentially putting Indigenous Peoples and their rights at serious risk. The SIRGE Coalition urges ICMM to require that its mining company members to fully commit to obtaining Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as enumerated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

ICMM must clearly state that no project can proceed without the explicit  Free, Prior and Informed Consent of affected Indigenous Peoples. This requirement must be absolute—if consent is withheld, the project must not move forward...

As published, ICMM’s deeply flawed position allows the continuation of harm to Indigenous Peoples by mining operations and calls into question ICMM’s stated commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples' rights. Mentioning international frameworks without robust accountability mechanisms undermines the instruments to uphold Indigenous Peoples' rights.

The SIRGE Coalition calls on the ICMM and other standard setting bodies working towards a consolidated mining industry standard, to correct, strengthen and provide more clarity in their Indigenous Peoples policies, or run the risk of perpetuating harms and rights abuses...