Skip to main content

search widget

Spanish
Menu
Home  >  Sustainability  >  Human Rights

Human Rights

Spanish

mobile site search widget

Putting Human Rights At The Core Of How We Conduct Our Business

We know that our activities, and those with whom we do business, can both promote and negatively impact human rights.

We acknowledge our responsibility — and the opportunity – to contribute to realizing human rights for people around the world.

4,800
Almost 4,800 public and security personnel trained in the VPs on Security and Human Rights

Industry leader
2019 Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights Benchmark

41%
Workers with collective bargaining agreements

56.9
Score on the Corporate Human Rights benchmark

We have zero tolerance for human rights violations wherever we operate. We avoid causing or contributing to human rights violations and to facilitate access to remedy. Our commitment to respect human rights is codified in our standalone Human Rights Policy and informed by the expectations of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs), and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Our policy is implemented on the ground via our Human Rights program. The fundamental principles of our human rights program include:

  • Monitoring and Reporting: We monitor for potential human rights incidents and aim to transparently report all incidents. We publicize our human rights commitments to local communities and other stakeholders and consult with them about their expectations around human rights.
  • Due diligence: Our mines conduct human rights assessments on a two-year cycle. In the first year, every operational mine conducts a self-assessment to evaluate the actual, potential and perceived human rights risks and impacts of the operation. In the second year, an independent human rights assessment program is conducted at mines with medium and high exposure to human rights risks.
  • Suppliers: Human rights are an important part of the supplier onboarding process. All suppliers must commit to our Supplier Code of Ethics, which includes human rights provisions.
  • Training: Our employees are provided with training on our human rights expectations as part of their induction training. Additional and enhanced specialist human rights training is provided for employees at operations with higher human rights risks or in higher risk roles, including security personnel.
  • Disciplinary action and remedy: A violation of our human rights policy will lead to disciplinary action, including termination of employment or contracts depending on severity. we cooperate with the relevant authorities and law enforcement agencies in prosecution efforts. We may also assist victims in seeking redress directly against perpetrators using internationally recognized channels.

Mine Security

Human rights and use of force training are front and center in our dealings with public and private security providers.

We follow the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs) in our dealings with public and private security providers, local communities and potential victims of human rights violations. The VPs require us to embed human rights principles in contractual requirements with security providers. We require security personnel at our sites to undergo a pre-employment screening that includes a criminal background check. Contractor security personnel must also provide a proof of background check when assigned to the site.

Security personnel also receive specific training on human rights, the VPs and Barrick’s Use of Force Procedure, which is aligned with the United Nations Guidelines for the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Our mines in Zambia, Peru, DRC, Côte d’Ivoire and the Dominican Republic have memoranda of understandings in place with public security agencies, all of which reflect the terms of the VPs. The Porgera Joint Venture and the North Mara gold mine have a Memorandum of Understanding with local police forces in Papua New Guinea and Tanzania respectively, which also reflects the terms of the VPs.

The General Managers of each mine are responsible for ensuring that our security operating procedures are followed.

In 2019 independent third-party consultant, Avanzar LLC, conducted a desktop assessment against VP requirements for our Veladero mine in Argentina. Our African mines will complete a self-assessment against the VPs in the first half of 2020 and our plan is to start to carry out independent third-party assessments of these sites against the VPs later in 2020.

 

Visit next: Environment