Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights

Transcription

1 Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Report for the Calendar Year 2015 c/o Sarah A. Altschuller Foley Hoag LLP 1875 K Street, N.W., Suite 800 Washington, D.C VoluntaryPrinciples@foleyhoag.org saltschuller@foleyhoag.org Contact: Emmanuelle Diehl PartnersGlobal 1800 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 401 Washington, D.C ediehl@partnersglobal.org on behalf of Partners for Democratic Change International PDCI - Avenue d Auderghem 36, 1040 Brussels, Belgium - Member Organizations: Partners Albania, Fundación Cambio Democrático-Argentina, Partners Bulgaria, Partners Colombia, Partners Czech Republic, Partners El Salvador, Partners Georgia, Partners Hungary, Partners Jordan, Partners Kosovo, Centro de Colaboración Cívica- México, Socios Perú: Centro de Colaboración Cívica, Partners Poland, Partners Romania, Partners West Africa-Senegal, Partners Serbia, Partners Slovakia, PartnersGlobal, and Partners Yemen.

2 INTRODUCTION Partners for Democratic Change International (PDCI) is an international network of nineteen independent, local organizations in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East that work to advance civil society, good governance, and a culture of change and conflict management worldwide. PDCI envisions a global partnership that promotes a culture of peace worldwide and societies in which citizen participation is ensured at all levels. PDCI member organizations, which are independent and interrelated, sustainable, and growing, adhere to the values of participatory decision-making, collaboration, and consensus-building as the fundamentals of an inclusive, democratic society. A. COMMITMENT 1. Statement of Commitment PDCI is strongly committed to supporting the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs). Since officially joining the Initiative of the Voluntary Principles and the Voluntary Principles Association in 2013 and then the Steering Committee Board in 2014, we have worked to incorporate the VPs into our capacity development and consensus building initiatives around sustainable resource management and environmental conflict resolution. We believe the VPs can contribute to creating the conditions for dialogue and engagement amongst civil society, communities, governments, and the extractive sector. B. POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND RELATED ACTIVITIES 2. Relevant Policies, Procedures, and/or Guidelines to Implement the Voluntary Principles PDCI has been supporting the implementation of the VPs since 2010 through the leadership role of one of its member Centers, Socios Perú: Centro de Colaboración Cívica. Additionally, the US member of PDCI recently rebranded as PartnersGlobal, has also been involved in VPs related activities. No changes in policies, procedures, and/or guidelines were necessary to advance our program work in this area during Our key engagement regarding the Voluntary Principles focuses on the following areas: Training delivery for civil society, the private sector, government and international networks on the VPs and the use of this multi stakeholder platform to address conflict, security and human rights concerns at the local level in Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub Saharan Africa. Participation at the different VPs working groups, NGO Pillar and Steering Committee. Tool kits development for training delivery on the VPs, Security and Human Rights issues and Business and Human Rights as part of company-community relations and strategic engagement. 7. Examples of promoting awareness of the Voluntary Principles throughout the organization/network As mentioned before, PDCI is an international network composed of independent organizations. Within the PDCI network, Socios Perú (Peru) and PartnersGlobal (USA) are the two members that

3 have actively participated in the VPs. To promote awareness internally, the two organizations have conducted the following activities: Socios Perú: a significant proportion of the organization s staff is directly involved in VPsrelated activities (training, advocacy and VPs implementation), particularly in the VPs Working Group. The remaining staff is continuously updated on the status of the work and future activities. PartnersGlobal: the team involved in the Voluntary Principles has provided timely updates to the staff through internal meetings and briefings after participation in major VPI events, such as the Steering Committee and Board of Directors Meeting and the VPI Plenary in March 2015 in London. 8. Examples of promoting and advancing implementation of the Voluntary Principles internationally The Voluntary Principles are a key component of the PDCI network way of promoting peaceful transformation of conflicts around extractive industries between communities, NGOs, governments, and the private sector. PDCI as a network and the individual Centers involved in the initiative continue to publicly endorse the VPs on our websites ( and and social media outlets, and we undertake efforts to raise public awareness of their importance in all the regions where we work, particularly in Latin America and West Africa. Additionally, during 2015 several members of PDCI held several meetings with different stakeholders and submitted concrete project ideas to promote the implementation of the Voluntary Principles in Latin America: In February 2015, Socios Perú organized the International Conference Current Perspectives on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. The conference brought together a diverse group of stakeholders and panelists included civil society and business leaders from Latin America, government officials from Peru (including the National Police), Canada, and Switzerland, and representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. In March 2015, PartnersGlobal (USA) held a meeting with representatives from the U.S. Department of State to explore opportunities for VPs-related programming in Latin America. Concretely, PartnersGlobal proposed a set of activities that aimed at: a) strengthening the NGO Pillar through a facilitated one-day strategic planning session in Washington, DC; b) facilitating VPs outreach in Latin America to identify potential new members (NGOs, companies, and governments); and c) supporting the participation of local and regional NGOs in the 2016 Plenary Meeting in Colombia. In April 2015, Centro de Colaboración Cívica (Mexico) and PartnersGlobal (USA) presented a project concept note to the Government of Switzerland to support the implementation of the Voluntary Principles in Mexico. The goal of the project was to identify key civil society actors, impacted communities, relevant private sector leaders, and government institutions that could help raise awareness and build a broad consensus for the Mexican government to join the Voluntary Principles. Unfortunately, the Swiss Government was unable to fund the project. Also in April, Centro de Colaboración Cívica (Mexico), PartnersColombia, and PartnersGlobal (USA) held a meeting in Bogota with Guillermo Rivera, Colombia s Presidency High

4 Commissioner for Human Rights and liaison for the Voluntary Principles, to discuss opportunities for engagement before, during, and after the upcoming Plenary Meeting in C. COUNTRY IMPLEMENTATION 9. Overview of country operations Latin America and the Caribbean Peru Since 2010 Socios Perú has facilitated the implementation of a Working Group (WG) on the VPs in Peru. Since its inception, the WG has been successful in improving the knowledge on the VPs in the country by strategically reaching out to government institutions, the private sector, NGOs and embassies in the country that act as observers of the WG process 1. The plenary group meets every quarter, and the steering committee every two weeks. In 2015, the Working Group held 7 meetings to discuss pressing security and human rights issues concerning the extractive sector in the country. See numeral 10 for detailed information. During 2015, Socios Perú continued the implementation of the project Promoting Security and Human Rights Good Practices through Engagement with Extractive Companies in Peru. This project, which is supported by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed (DCAF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Peace Nexus Foundation, aims to support concrete implementation of security and human rights good practices through a process of multi-stakeholder engagement. See numeral 12 for detailed information. Also in 2015, Socios Perú provided expert advice to the company Hudbay Minerals on the implementation of the VPs. See numerals 10 and 12 for detailed information. Sub-Saharan Africa Nigeria In Nigeria, PartnersGlobal (USA) worked closely with the CLEEN Foundation on awareness raising and capacity building workshops around the Voluntary Principles with communities within the oil-bearing areas of South-East Nigeria. These efforts are part of a multi-year anticorruption initiative funded by the US Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). The initiative seeks to build more accountable institutions in Nigeria and Sierra Leone by enhancing institutional transparency and preventing impunity for those who engage in corruption and transnational organized crime. See numeral 12 for detailed information. 10. Engagements with stakeholders on country implementation Latin America and the Caribbean Peru From June to December, Socios Perú designed the VPs Implementation Process and Protocols for Hudbay Minerals. As part of this contract, Socios Perú delivered: 1 Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ministry of Environment, Superintendence for the Control of Arms and Explosives, Peru National Police, Lima Local Police, Human Rights Commission of Peru, Newmont- Yanacocha, Glencore, Hudbay Minerals, Embassy of Canada, Embassy of Colombia, Embassy of Switzerland, Embassy of Australia, and the Delegation of the European Union.

5 o Company Implementation Plan of the VPs o Training Program on VPs and Human Rights in General o Protocols and Procedures for working with public security forces and private security providers. o Company Engagement Strategy with the National Police o Company Engagement Strategy with Private Security Providers During 2015 Socios Perú coordinated the following meetings of the VPs Working Group in Peru: o March: Presentation by the organization GRUFIDES on the Chaupe Family-Yanacocha case. o April: Presentation by a group composed of the ICRC, the Human Rights and Democracy Institute (IDEHPUCP) and the Legal Defense Institute (IDL) on the Law on the Use of Force of the National Police. Presentation by Yanacocha on the state of agreements between the public security forces and the extractive sector in Peru. o May: Presentation by Grupo Temático Sectorial Mesa Verde on the Madre de Dios case (illegal gold mining and mercury contamination of water sources in the department Madre de Dios). Presentation by the Swiss Embassy on the Oro Responsible Initiative. Group discussion about the conflict surrounding the Tia Maria Proyect. o July: Presentation by the Ministry of the Interior on the Law on the Use of Force of the National Police. Presentation by the Ministry of the Interior on the state of agreements between the public security forces and the extractive sector in Peru. o August: Presentation by the organizations CooperAccion and Red Social on the state of artisanal, informal, and illegal mining activities in the country. o October: Presentation by the National Superintendence for the Control of Arms and Explosives (SUCAMEC) on the Legislative Decree 1213, which regulates private security providers. Presentation of the Practical Guideline for Addressing Security and Human Rights Challenges in Complex Environments adapted and translated into Spanish by Socios Perú, DCAF, and Peace Nexus 2. o November: Briefing by Socios Perú about the 2015 United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights where the organization participated. 12. Examples of supporting outreach, education, and/or training of (i) relevant personnel, (ii) private security, (iii) public security, and/or (iv) civil society Latin America and the Caribbean Peru The project Promoting Security and Human Rights Good Practices through Engagement with Extractive Companies in Peru combines awareness raising, identification of needs and the co-development of context-specific tools with local civil society and company partners. During 2015 Socios Perú developed a Practical Guideline for Addressing Security and Human Rights Challenges in Complex Environments. In October, the organization presented the draft guidelines to the VPs Working Group to receive feedback. In November, the organization held a workshop with staff from Newmont-Yanacocha to present and validate the guidelines. During August and September, Socios Perú provided expert advice to the legal department of Hudbay Minerals to minimize any potential rights abuses as part of a legal confrontation between the company and private citizens who were legally evicted by the company 2 See

6 (following a Court order from the Peruvian Judicial Branch). The advice focused on how to follow the guidelines of the Voluntary Principles Initiative and the International Finance Corporation for the use of public and private security forces. Sub-Saharan Africa Nigeria CLEEN Foundation (CLEEN), a Nigerian-based organization, leads the Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalization Anti-Corruption Campaign as a part of the PartnersGlobal Access Nigeria project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). During 2015, CLEEN carried out outreach and education activities in oilbearing communities on the Voluntary Principles and on ways to help prevent oil theft siphoning and pipeline destruction that often have harmful ramifications. Following CLEEN s workshops, Shell Oil began an ongoing engagement with the Umuorie community in South East Nigeria, regarding an unresolved oil spill. This was a significant milestone as oil companies are often not well received and not particularly known for in-depth community engagement in the region. D. LESSONS AND ISSUES 14. Lessons or Issues and plans or opportunities to advance the Voluntary Principles Throughout 2016, PDCI and particularly Socios Perú and PartnersGlobal will continue promoting the VPs, leveraging the results we have achieved so far. In particular, we will focus on Latin America and Caribbean and Sub Saharan Africa by engaging strategically with the private sector, international organizations, governments and civil society organizations through multi-stakeholder roundtables, multi-stakeholder trainings and development of thought leadership materials on dialogue facilitation, the VPs and business and human rights.