27.06.2024 New Publication: Study on Grievance Mechanisms to promote Human Rights in the Mining Industry

Mining activities can cause wide-ranging and complex impacts on human rights of workers, the local populations as well as the rights of communities, including indigenous people’s rights. Effective and accessible grievance mechanisms play a critical role in managing social and environmental risks and ensuring the fulfilment of rights and well-being of affected communities, including their access to remedy. For the private sector they are important to maintain the social license to operate. With the increasing number of mandatory due diligence laws and guidelines such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD) that require the establishment of grievance mechanisms, corporate (non-state-based non-judicial) grievance mechanisms are gaining further importance.

In this context the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in collaboration with the GIZ Sector Programme “Extractives and Development” and the “Initiative for Global Solidarity” commissioned a study to analyse the effectiveness of existing grievance mechanisms in mineral supply chains providing access to remedy for rightsholders in large-scale mining. Within the scope of the study the authors evaluated the role of non-state-based non-judicial grievance mechanisms in four countries selected by their importance of the mining sector, namely Colombia, Peru, Indonesia, and South Africa. The existing grievance systems were analysed against the UNGP criteria for effectiveness and both their potentials and limitations in providing effective remedies for human rights violations were explored.

One of the key findings clearly shows that the so-called “remedy gap” persists: despite a variety of grievance mechanisms being available at national and international level, there are significant challenges for right holders in terms of access and effectiveness in regard to grievance channels and remedial measures. This includes a lack of awareness about the potentially available grievance mechanisms, but also financial, technical, linguistic, cultural and gender barriers to access those. When human rights violations have taken place, affected persons are often faced with the difficulty to provide proof of evidence which requires substantial legal know-how or financial support. Moreover, when remedy measures are determined they often do not meet the requirements by those who have been affected. To tackle these challenges, the authors conclude with a set of recommendations for companies, civil society and development cooperation to support building a robust and comprehensive grievance ecosystem.

For the full version of the study and the summary of recommendations, please see the study document here (External link).