We welcome this initiative from the United Nations Environment Program, Principles for Responsible Investment and International Council on Mining and Metals to develop a global standard for tailings management in order to prevent catastrophic failures which devastate the environment and destroy lives and livelihoods.
As an anti-corruption organisation, we have provided insights into specific sections of the draft standard which strengthen the standard by providing mechanisms to prevent corruption including reducing conflicts of interest, accountability measures, developing an organisational culture of openness and transparency, and providing public access to information.
We believe that the standard could be further strengthened by providing additional details and requirements around community participation and engagement, conflicts of interest, and whistleblowing protections. We would be happy to provide the expert panel with additional information about these recommendations including reference documents such as best practice guidelines. What might be of particular interest to the panel is our Responsible Mining Business Integrity tool we developed as part of the Mining for Sustainable Development programme. The tool aims to assist companies evaluate the robustness of their anti-corruption controls and procedures, and includes guidance around topics specifically relevant to the draft standard including community engagement risk management and business integrity risks both within the organisation and in relation to third parties.