Companies in the extractive industries can have an important role to play in promoting sustainable and prosperous societies by creating employment opportunities, contributing to infrastructure development and providing both direct and indirect benefits to the local and national economies. However, oil, gas and mining companies, particularly those operating in fragile or conflict-affected environments, must also carefully manage relationships with local communities and public and private security forces.
Recognizing the need for a collective response to ensuring responsible business practices, in 1996 FFP established the Human Rights and Business Roundtable, a ground-breaking forum for businesses and civil society to discuss issues of common concern in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and confidentiality. Though the forum of the Roundtable was rare at the time for its multi-stakeholder nature, it has spawned many important initiatives and engagements in the two decades since. For example, the Roundtable was the scene of many of the early discussions that led to the creation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, an initiative in which FFP continues to be a leading member and has led national-level implementation programs in Ghana and Indonesia.
Further, FFP works with companies around the world – including companies in the oil, mining, renewable energy, agribusiness, transportation, and infrastructure sectors – to provide risk and security assessments, advice, and training to assist with implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, compliance with IFC Performance Standard 4, or simply to improve relationships with local communities.
We frequently support companies in their development of the following activities:
- Human Rights & Security Polices
- Conflict and Human Rights Assessments
- Community Relations and Stakeholder Engagement
- Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms
- Training
We have also worked with multilateral investors and companies in the extractives industry to develop trainings and guidance to better integrate human rights into their daily operations and security arrangements.
For more information on our training programs, visit our Capacity Building and Training page.