The iTSCi team played a leading role at the 11th ICGLR-OECD-UN Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains held in Paris in May 2017. The forum was a comprehensive review of implementation of the benchmark OECD Due Diligence Guidelines (DDG) responsible minerals supply from conflict and high risk areas.
Presentations, panel sessions and workshops over three days reported and discussed data on progress across different regions and minerals, including case studies, with perspectives from senior representatives of government, NGOs and downstream industries.
The OECD DDG has always been central to the design of the iTSCi programme and indeed iTSCi is the only upstream programme participating in the OECD Alignment Assessment, reported on at the forum. This exercise, which is still ongoing, should give independent confirmation on how iTSCi is providing companies with support for OECD aligned due diligence.
iTSCi is also a core part of OECD DDG implementation in the African Great Lakes Region, which was a focus session at the event. Team members contributed their experience of many practical challenges, including the management of risk through in the ground field teams and mitigation activities. The forum particularly explored how the OCD DDG could be expanded to other high risk areas and to other mineral supply chains beyond 3T and gold. Tin supply from Myanmar was discussed, for example, as well as minerals supply chains for mica, cobalt, coal and precious stones. There was a significant interest in how successful programmes such as iTSCi could be a model for future expansion.