Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to respond to the letter of 18 June 2019 from the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland requesting a meeting with the Minister of State for the Commonwealth.
Answered by Alan Duncan
A response from Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon was sent to the hon. Member for Bishop Aukland on 15 July 2019.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with which private sector organisations the Government held discussions on supporting engagement of the private sector with the Truth Commission in Colombia.
Answered by Mark Field
Over the 2016-2018 financial years, we financed a project, implemented by Centro Regional de Empresas y Emprendimientos (CREER) in Colombia, to help implement the measures in Colombia's National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights which provide for non-judicial remedy of potential disputes related to extractive industry projects. The guide for firms, produced following extensive consultations, workshops and three pilot projects, can be found here (in Spanish).
For more information on the global objectives of this (and other) programmes, please see our ODA collection pages on GOV.UK . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains committed to meeting transparency requirements, published on gov.uk
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the outcomes of his Department's Magna Carta Fund project on the UN guiding principles on business and human rights in Colombia.
Answered by Mark Field
Over the 2016-2018 financial years, we financed a project, implemented by Centro Regional de Empresas y Emprendimientos Responsables CREER in Colombia, to help implement the measures in Colombia's National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights which provide for non-judicial remedy of potential disputes related to extractive industry projects. The guide for firms, produced following extensive consultations, workshops and three pilot projects, can be found here (in Spanish).
For more information on the global objectives of this (and other) programmes, please see our ODA collection pages on GOV.UK . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office remains committed to meeting transparency requirements, published on gov.uk
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential consequences for Colombian mining companies of non-compliance with the OECD due diligence guidance.
Answered by Mark Field
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD DDG) sets out recommendations to help companies respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral purchasing decisions and practices. While not legally binding, the recommendations reflect the common position and political commitments of OECD members and non-member adherents. Grievances against companies registered in OECD member and adherent non-member countries that have allegedly failed to meet the guidelines' standards can be taken to the OECD's National Contact Point in the relevant country. When the European Union Conflict Minerals Regulation comes into full force on 1 January 2021, the OECD Guidance will become mandatory for the largest importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) into the European Union.
The 2018 Annual Human Rights report included details of the Government's work to support responsible mining practices in Colombia. On 6 February 2018 the OECD published a report on due diligence in Colombia's gold supply chain. For Due Diligence to be effective it needs to be implemented across the supply chain. To achieve this it is essential to work with all actors in the supply chain including NGOs and the private sector. We do this through the OECD's multi-stakeholder group linked for their Implementation Programme for the DDG. In addition, the UK helped to found the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals, a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to increase the supply and demand of responsibly sourced minerals. You can find a current list of European Partnership for Responsible Minerals members at the following link: https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/member.
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a report on the Government’s work to support responsible mining practices in Colombia.
Answered by Mark Field
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD DDG) sets out recommendations to help companies respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral purchasing decisions and practices. While not legally binding, the recommendations reflect the common position and political commitments of OECD members and non-member adherents. Grievances against companies registered in OECD member and adherent non-member countries that have allegedly failed to meet the guidelines' standards can be taken to the OECD's National Contact Point in the relevant country. When the European Union Conflict Minerals Regulation comes into full force on 1 January 2021, the OECD Guidance will become mandatory for the largest importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) into the European Union.
The 2018 Annual Human Rights report included details of the Government's work to support responsible mining practices in Colombia. On 6 February 2018 the OECD published a report on due diligence in Colombia's gold supply chain. For Due Diligence to be effective it needs to be implemented across the supply chain. To achieve this it is essential to work with all actors in the supply chain including NGOs and the private sector. We do this through the OECD's multi-stakeholder group linked for their Implementation Programme for the DDG. In addition, the UK helped to found the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals, a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to increase the supply and demand of responsibly sourced minerals. You can find a current list of European Partnership for Responsible Minerals members at the following link: https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/member.