On February 27, the skills workshop on the OECD Diligence Due Diligence Guidance was held in Medellin, Colombia, in order to understand the context, objectives and recommendations, as well as to analyze in depth the necessary steps for its implementation.
Although mining is a source of growth for innovation and technological development, it can cause some risks such as human rights abuses, conflict financing, money laundering, terrorism financing or bribery. In order to abolish these risks, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) created the Due Diligence Guidance, which is a series of guidelines for companies working in the mineral supply chain (and especially focused on territories that are related to conflict minerals). The Guide is based on respecting human rights and avoiding support of armed conflicts.
The workshop was organized in order that the different actors (that directly or indirectly are involved in the application and understanding of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance) can improve management practices in the gold supply chain. The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), along with the Rosario University, the Colombian Mining Observatory (OCMI) and AFAI Consulting, held the capacity workshop on the OECD Due Diligence Guidence in Medellin, Colombia.
The attendees were artisanal and small-scale miners, traders, representatives of medium-scale mining, civil society and government institutions. These activities were framed within the project implemented by the OECD and funded by the European Union through the instrument that contributes to stability and peace.
The opening was attended by Hannah Koep-Andrieu, Policy Advisor for extractive and sectoral projects of the Responsible Business Conduct Unit of the OECD; Dora Elena Balvín, Secretary of Mines of Antioquia’s Government (Colombia); Marcin Piersiak, Deputy Director of ARM; and Leonardo Güiza, principal professor at the Rosario University. The beginning of the activity allowed attendees to better understand the international framework and context of the creation of the Guide and the characteristics for the application in Colombia, as well as to know the key concepts associated with its guidelines.
After this introduction, different participative activities were carried out with the aim of knowledge building for understanding in greater depth the Due Diligence Guidance and for the attendees to know how to apply it to their businesses.
It was a very enriching space for everyone since the inputs provided by the participants allowed to feed the perspectives of each organization, review the concepts and perform analysis from specific situations faced by companies. In addition, participants who have already been implementing due diligence processes in their companies and with suppliers and customers shared their experiences.
This project is expected to continue through other workshops with the encouragement that Colombia is an exemplary country in the implementation of the Guide. We believe that a more collaborative spirit among several actors can be established to set up commitments on the adoption and facilitation of the application of the Guide in Colombia.
Learn more about the project here