"A UN expert group has welcomed the move by the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to make it a mandatory requirement for its members to prevent and address adverse human rights impacts in mining operations worldwide.

ICMM involves 27 of the world’s largest mining corporations. It is the first global industry association in the mining sector to introduce a performance standard explicitly based on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights as set out in UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

'Mining is among the sectors with the highest risk of negative impacts on people. All too often, communities, workers and indigenous peoples in all world regions suffer human rights abuses in the context of mining; and individuals speaking up against such abuse are being targeted by governments and companies', said Dante Pesce, who chairs the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights..."