Our Incident and Outcome Review report provides an overview of our achievements working with stakeholders in risk mitigation relating to 3T mineral supply chains from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda from 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023, and marks a change to the previous reporting period of 1st November 2022 to 31st October 2023. Note no incident was recorded in Uganda during the reporting period.
The ITSCI Programme has extensive experience supporting companies, governments and civil society in the identification and mitigation of risks associated with 3T minerals supply chains. In June 2023, a second independent Alignment Assessment concluded ITSCI is Fully Aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRA). We support companies performing due diligence according to those expectations.
ITSCI facilitates traceability to identify, verify, and report risks as a critical part of our incident management system. Whistleblowing is also a critical component of the incident reporting mechanism. We communicate incidents along the supply chain, recommend mitigation actions, and facilitate discussion of mitigation among local stakeholders. In addition, we follow up and report on the progress of mitigation.
Salient indicators of ITSCI Programme implementation during the reporting period follow.
- 2,740 monitored mine sites
- 860 average on the ground visits per month
- 740,000 mineral transactions
- 628 whistle-blower calls
- 1,763 incidents opened
Of the 1,763 incidents opened during the reporting period, 254 were categorised as Level 1 seriousness with potential association with human rights abuses, the involvement of non-state armed groups, illegal taxation, or involvement in mineral business by rogue individuals of state armed groups.
Of the 254 Level 1 incidents, 38 were categorised as High Risk with relevance for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, all of which are Level 1. At the end of the reporting period 12 of the High-Risk incidents were still open and under mitigation. ITSCI will continue to monitor the incidents in accordance with ITSCI procedures.
ITSCI has 32 indicators of outcomes from incident management which for the purpose of simplification are aggregated into 7 categories. The proportion of outcomes for 5 of the incident categories during the current reporting period follow.
- 35% Due Diligence Improvements
- 16% Governance and Security Improvements
- 1% Mine/Company/Mineral Suspension or Seizure
- 17% Awareness-Raising and Mediation
- 6% Human Rights/Health and Safety Risk Mitigation
Overall, the outcomes of incident management led to slightly lower outcomes in improvements in due diligence and awareness-raising and mediation compared to the previous reporting period.