Mining activities pose a great risk to vulnerable members of society, including women and children. It exposes them to hazardous health conditions and particularly deprives children of proper education and childhood. Therefore, there is a need for ethical mining practices and regulatory enforcement to prevent the exploitation of the vulnerable population in the industry.

Supratim Bhattacharjee/iStock

Resources

Find important links to resources related to business and human rights.

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act, 2023 (Canada)

The EU “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, 2024

United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 217 (III) A (Paris, United Nations 1948).

OECD, Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2018).

OECD, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011 Ed (Paris: OECD Publishing, May 2011).

OECD, Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, 3rd ed (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2016).

OECD, Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises (Paris: OECD, 2015).

OECD, Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2017).

OECD, Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2018).

OHCHR, Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (December 2014) UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

ISO, Guidance on Social Responsibility (2014)

OHCHR, State National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights

The UN Global Compact

Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, 5th ed (International Labour Organization, 2017).

UN International Law Commission, Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, with commentaries, Report of the International Law Commission at the fifty third Session A/56/10 2001 (23 April-June and 2 July-10 August 2001).

UN Commission on Human Rights, Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprise, Resolution UN Doc 2005/69 (20 April 2005).

United Nations, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on the report of the Sixth Committee (A/56/589 and Corr.1), A/RES/56/83 (28 January 2002).

OHCHR, Mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises, Resolution 8/7 adopted without a vote at the 28th Meeting (8 June 2008)

UN Guiding Principles

The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) is an authoritative normative global framework that guides responsible business conduct and addresses human rights abuses in business operations and global supply chains. The UNGPS contains three mutually reinforcing pillars. Pillar I focuses on states’ responsibility to protect human rights), Pillar II prescribes corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and Pillar III enunciates access to effective remedy principles for victims of corporate abuse.

One of our goals at the Canadian Forum on Business and Human Rights is to critically interrogate how the UNGPs is being implemented in Canada and abroad.