SIRGE Coalition Will Present at the 17th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply ChainsMay 21-24, 2024 at OECD Headquarters, Paris

May 20, 2024 - The Securing Indigenous Peoples Rights to a Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition is pleased to announce their participation at the 17th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains from May 21st to May 24th in Paris. SIRGE Coalition will be joined by representatives of its member organizations First Peoples Worldwide, Cultural Survival, Earthworks, and Society for Threatened Peoples. 

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is the leader in international and industry standards for guidelines to help multinational enterprises and companies practice due diligence for sustainable business conduct. These guidelines will form the basis of the forum's discussions, along with the exploration of longstanding and emerging priorities to foster responsible mineral supply chains. Sessions will examine the often overlooked conflict risks, development minerals, policy cohesion, and responsible business conduct in government-to-government agreements on transition minerals.

The demand for transition minerals and battery metals used in current energy technologies has accelerated in response to the climate crisis and the need to shift away from fossil fuels. However, mining for battery minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper, and nickel causes significant environmental impacts and is disproportionately harmful to Indigenous Peoples. More than half of transition minerals globally are on or located near Indigenous Peoples’ lands.   SIRGE Coalition focuses on the urgent need to uphold and respect Indigenous Peoples' right to self-determination and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

SIRGE representatives at the OECD Forum next week include Galina Angarova (Buryat), Executive Director at SIRGE Coalition, Edson Krenak (Krenak), Advocacy Coordinator at Cultural Survival, Payal Sampat, Mining Program Director at Earthworks, and Silvia Schönenberger, Program Manager, Climate Justice and Indigenous Rights at Society for Threatened Peoples in Switzerland.

A panel organized by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) and joined by Edson Krenak will run on May 21st from 9:45am-11:15am. The panel will cover human rights abuses of Indigenous Peoples in transition minerals mining. A presentation of the findings of the 5th edition of the Transition Minerals Tracker by BHRRC will be followed by a discussion exploring risk drivers and perspectives from Indigenous communities on how the private sector and states can genuinely foster meaningful engagement with local rights holders. Other speakers include Caroline Avan, Head of Program at BHRRC, Beverly Besmanos, Coordinator at Bantay Kita - Publish What You Pay Philippines, and Roberto Stefani, Extractive Industries Knowledge Hub Coordinator at Oxfam.

Galina Angarova will be joining Chelsea Hodgkins, Public Citizen member of the Lead the Charge Network, Jan Knacksterdt of Mercedez Benz, Blake Harwell of the OECD Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), and Cäcilie Le Gallic of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct on the Multi-Stakeholder Panel on Mining Sector Audits and Standards: Flaws, Gaps and Recommendations on May 23rd from 2:15pm-3:30pm. The partner-led panel is organized by Transportation & Environment (T&E), The Sunrise Project, Public Citizen, Rainforest Foundation Norway, and Earthworks, and will be moderated by Payal Sampat from Earthworks, which is also a member of the Lead the Charge Network. 

The session will present findings from a recent analysis of third-party assurance and audit schemes in the minerals sectors, followed by a discussion and audience Q&A on key issues related to multi-stakeholder governance, the credibility of underlying standards and their audits, and challenges and opportunities these gaps pose for automakers and regulators as a due diligence tool in the transition to electric vehicles.

There will also be an online webinar on Global Indigenous perspectives & responses to mining impacts on May 22nd from 2:30pm-3:30pm, organized by Madeline R. Young, Breizhadez (Britanny) and Soussou (Guinea), Associate Lecturer of Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter. Galina Angarova and Edson Krenak will join Salimata Sy, VP Association Femmes Chefs de Famille and Aichetou Haidara, VP of 3CM (Coalition Contre la Corruption en Mauritanie) to discuss the impacts of mining on Indigenous communities and measures being taken to protect and restore Indigenous rights and human rights of local populations. The webinar will be moderated by Madeline R. Young.

Galina Angarova will join Rebecca Burton, Deputy Director at Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), on the partner-led workshop, Operationalizing Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) across Transition Mineral Supply Chains on May 24th from 9:00am-10:30am. Organized by First Peoples Worldwide, SIRGE, and IRMA, the workshop will introduce new guidance materials on FPIC, including relevant resources for identifying Indigenous Peoples globally and commonly asked Q&A's to help investors and purchasers of mined materials strengthen their independent due diligence related to FPIC. Workshop participants will be invited to share their experiences and additional questions, and offer examples of leading performance. The session will be moderated by Earthworks’ Mining Program Director, Payal Sampat.

For more information about the forum and to register, visit: https://www.oecd-events.org/responsible-mineral-supply-chain/

About

The Securing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Green Economy (SIRGE) Coalition implements transformative solutions to secure the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the global transition to a green economy. With respect to the transition mineral supply chain, SIRGE Coalition focuses on the urgent need to operationalize Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) as enumerated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Coalition is made up of First Peoples Worldwide, Cultural Survival, Earthworks, Batani Foundation, and Society for Threatened Peoples, with new affiliate member International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA).

Media Contact: noreen@sirgecoalition.org

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