"Putting respect for human rights at the heart of mining", 10 Dec 2018

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights... Business has a major part to play and mining...must continue to embed and demonstrate respect for human rights... [T]he actions of business to respect human rights - in the factory, farm or office - and beyond along supply chains, in communities, and in engagements with governments...are the focus of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights... [W]e recognise that much remains to be done.  We are stepping up to the challenge, including updating our member commitments to make sure that they truly represent a benchmark for responsible mining practices that can be assessed and validated at the mine site level.... Respect for human rights sits at the heart of these new performance expectations... Today is also the 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders... This Declaration is unfortunately as relevant as ever... At ICMM we believe an active and open civil society and strong rule of law are essential to the enabling environment for responsible business... We support the existence of an open civic space and want everyone – supporters and critics – to be able to express opinions safely and without fear of reprisal or persecution...