Since 2012, more people have been killed opposing mining than any other industry, according to a new Global Witness report published in September. Many land and environmental defenders – in particular, those from Indigenous communities – risk their livelihoods, homes, wellbeing and even their lives when they stand in the way of extractive industry projects.
We also know that more than half of the copper, nickel, lithium and other so-called “critical” minerals that mining companies seek to exploit are on or near the territories of Indigenous Peoples – which are also some of the most biodiverse and intact ecosystems, in large part thanks to the stewardship of Indigenous communities.
Last month, the trade association of the world’s largest mining companies, representing thirty percent of the sector, the International Council on Metals and Mining (ICMM), published an Indigenous Peoples policy statement, presenting a tremendous opportunity to rise to meet this fraught moment. Unfortunately it fell far short. Indigenous organizations have called it “critically weak,” noting that it does not do an adequate job of safeguarding the essential right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent; the Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) has “strongly denounced” the statement; other Indigenous rights experts have noted that it “directly contradicts” the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Soon after, 25 civil society organizations wrote a letter to ICMM and 3 other mining industry associations voicing concerns about a new industry-defined mining standard under development, noting that “it runs the risk of creating a race to the bottom at a time when the mining sector so urgently needs to make significant improvements to its social and environmental performance.”
Surely this critical feedback provides an opportunity for reflection, humility and genuine change. Instead ICMM’s London-based leadership doubled down on the “extractive” nature of extractive industries, exploiting the moment for a public relations stunt and claiming to be the injured party. Writing multiple LinkedIn posts and a recent ICMM newsletter unironically entitled “The Power of Tension,” ICMM CEO Rohitesh Dhawan used his soapbox to lament – not the mining industry’s track record, but losing a seat on a Climate Week panel. “Recently I was dis-invited by a global NGO from speaking at a panel they are hosting on human rights during New York Climate Week 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 at a panel during New York Climate Week is not in any way life-threatening or dangerous. The experience of living near a mine, unfortunately, can be. On the rare occasions that Indigenous leaders and community representatives have the opportunity to participate in global spaces or panels, it’s impossible to shed the fears and risks they carry from their real, lived experiences in their homes.
Earthworks has been following the ICMM since the earliest days when it was formed 24 years ago. It’s long past time to stop the hand-wringing, the window dressing and rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic – and instead, for ICMM to seriously engage with its critics to take on the necessary work to overhaul the mining industry’s harmful ecological and human footprint in meaningful ways that safeguard the rights, lands and health of communities on the ground.