IBLF - New criteria to strengthen Voluntary Principles

MEDIA ROOM - NEWS

New criteria to strengthen Voluntary Principles

17 May 2007

The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights has adopted formal participation criteria at its 2007 Plenary, hosted by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. The criteria are intended to strengthen the Voluntary Principles by fostering greater accountability on the part of all Voluntary Principles participants including governments, companies and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

The Voluntary Principles aim to maintain the safety and security of extractive operations, whilst ensuring that human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected. IBLF co-manages the Secretariat for the Principles.

The criteria articulate the responsibilities of current and future Voluntary Principles members and should strengthen implementation of the Voluntary Principles while also encouraging more robust and constructive dialogue among participants.

Some of the key features of the new criteria include: minimum requirements for participation; a dispute resolution process to raise concerns about the performance of a participant; clear accountability mechanisms; and more transparent procedures for accepting new members. Additionally, the new criteria enshrine a commitment by participants to report publicly on their implementation of the Voluntary Principles or their support for implementation once formal reporting criteria are finalized.

U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Barry F. Lowenkron, opened the Plenary and congratulated Voluntary Principles participants, noting that, "the adoption of clear performance-based criteria governing participation in the Voluntary Principles reinforces our shared commitment to ensuring that the security practices of the extractive industry contribute to the protection of human rights."

The participation criteria adoption, combined with last year's decisions to remove the requirement that companies or NGOs could participate in the Plenary only if their home government was also a participant, and to open the process to host governments that play an active role in in-country implementation processes, pave the way towards an expansion of the Voluntary Principles membership.

The new procedure for admission to the Plenary requires the submission of a formal expression of interest, and the consensus support of current participants. Once admitted, participants seek to strengthen the effective implementation of the principles by sharing examples of good practices and other learning experiences, and by promoting their wider use. If an applicant is not admitted, they will receive an explanation for that decision and will have an opportunity to reply.

The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights are a unique tripartite, multi-stakeholder initiative established in 2000 that introduced a set of principles to guide extractives companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Voluntary Principles address three main areas: risk assessment; interactions between companies and public security; and interactions between companies and private security.

Contact
Amanda Gardiner, Programme Manager
tel 44 (0)20 7467 3655, email firstname.surname@iblf.org

All materials on this website © IBLF 2009. International Business Leaders Forum is a company limited by guarantee registered in England 2552695 and a Registered Charity No. 1024119.
IBLF North America is a registered 501c3 independent company with tax exemption status, registered in Delaware, USA DLN 17053145016027