d. incorporating this knowledge into corporate management systems so that
impacts and risks can be tracked and managed
e. ensuring internal alignment and awareness of corporate policy commitments
including implications for specific operating contexts.
7. A company that is not adequately prepared is not in a position to inform regulators,
indigenous and tribal peoples or itself about the impacts that a project will have on
indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights. Neither will it be in a position to avoid conflict
where there are matters of dispute, develop mitigation measures for known impacts,
or negotiate a benefit-sharing arrangement that is based on a genuine recognition of
indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights. The Panel urges a greater industry recognition
of the symbiosis between:
a. a resource developer being informed of the social context and the individual
and collective land and resource rights of indigenous and tribal peoples
b. the developer’s ability to generate information about the impacts and risks
that a project might have on that social context and the rights of indigenous
and tribal peoples.
8. Resource developers should approach the construction phase as a period of human
rights risk. This approach would:
a. enable the industry to develop risk mitigation measures for what is a wellknown challenge to social performance, early in the mine lifecycle
b. support the “front end loading” of efforts to ensure that studies are available
for the operational phase of the project
c. secure the necessary timing, allocation of resources and allocation of effort
that is consistent with industry standards and FPIC principles.
9. From the outset of a resource development project, consider how indigenous and
tribal peoples can become partners in resource development and achieve a greater
transfer of wealth based on recognition of their customary ownership of the lands in
question.
8
Conclusion
The Panel welcomed the opportunity to consider matters relating to FPIC within a human
rights framework at the Merian mine in Suriname. Newmont’s initiation of the Panel,
participation in the Panel process and the release of this report provides valuable insight for
the industry more broadly and demonstrates Newmont’s commitment to a deeper
consideration of the complexities involved. In the robust exchanges during the preparation
of this report, the parties enriched their understanding of the complex social and human
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