Why human rights matter

Challenge the practice is addressing: Rio Tinto has modified its human rights policy to reflect current business and human rights developments, including the 2011 UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights adoption and the amendment of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises. Their policy states that they embrace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and uphold those rights when doing the Group's business across the globe.

Concrete practice to achieve the expected goal: The foundation of Rio Tinto's human rights framework is human rights due diligence, which is carried out as part of their corporate procedures. This framework is in line with their commitments under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and reflects the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. They understand that in the course of our daily business, some rights may be more "at risk" than others. Their internal controls and tools, including those created for CSP work, are used to apply their human rights framework. Additionally, it is backed by networks for awareness-raising and escalation as well as systems for governance, communication, and training.

Expected impact/goal of the practice: The goal is to ensure awareness and capacity of all of Rio Tinto employees to identify potential human rights issues when engaging with communities.

Who is the target user group of the practice/intervention or implementing the practice/intervention? This practice is relevant for all employees of companies in the extractive industry.