Since 2012, more people have been killed in opposition to mining than any other industry, according to a new Global Witness report published in September. Many land and environmental defenders – especially those from indigenous communities – risk their livelihoods, homes, well-being and even their lives when they stand in the way of industrial projects.
We also know that more than half of the copper, nickel, lithium and other so-called “important” minerals that mining companies seek to exploit are on or near indigenous territories – which are also some of the most biologically intact ecosystems. , thanks in large part to indigenous stewardship.
Last month, the trade association of the world’s largest mining companies, which represents thirty percent of the sector, the International Council on Metals and Mining (ICMM), published an Indigenous Policy Statement, offering a tremendous opportunity to rise up to meet this difficult time. Unfortunately, it went a long way. Indigenous groups have called it “very weak” and noted that it does not do an adequate job of protecting the essential right to free, prior and informed consent; The Asian Indigenous Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) has “strongly condemned” the statement; other indigenous rights experts have noted that it “directly contradicts” the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Shortly afterwards, 25 civil society organizations wrote to the ICMM and 3 other mining industry associations expressing concern about the new industry-defined mining standard in development, noting that “it risks creating a race to the bottom at a time when the mining sector urgently needs to make significant improving its social and environmental performance.
Certainly, this critical feedback provides an opportunity for reflection, humility, and real change. Instead, ICMM’s leadership in London doubled down on the “extractive” nature of extractive industries, using the moment for PR stunts and claiming to be the victim. Writing multiple LinkedIn posts and a recent ICMM newsletter titled “The Power of Tension,” ICMM CEO Rohitesh Dhawan used his soapbox to bemoan — not the mining industry’s track record, but his loss of a spot on Climate Week. “I was recently banned by an international NGO from speaking at a conference they are hosting on human rights during Climate Week in New York because another panelist disagreed with an aspect of ICMM’s position on a particular topic.
The experience of being politely asked to step back from the spotlight on a panel at New York Climate Week is not in any way life-threatening or dangerous. The experience of living near a mine, unfortunately, can be. In the rare opportunities that indigenous leaders and community representatives have the opportunity to participate in international spaces or panels, it is impossible to project the fears and risks they carry from their real, lived experiences in their homes.
Earthworks has followed ICMM since its early days when it was founded 24 years ago. It is long past time to stop hand-washing, window-dressing and rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic – and instead for the ICMM to seriously engage its critics to undertake the necessary work to review the mining industry’s harmful ecological and human footprint. ways that protect the rights, lands and health of communities on the ground.
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