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The Juukan Gorge Incident: Key Lessons on Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2021

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Extract

On 24 May 2020, Rio Tinto detonated an area of the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara in Western Australia as part of its iron ore mining operations, damaging two ancient rock shelters with profound cultural significance to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) People.1 The incident has brought international attention to the importance of Indigenous cultural heritage within broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations.

Keywords

cultural heritageFPICIndigenous peoplesJuukan GorgeRio Tinto
Type
Developments in the Field
Information
Business and Human Rights Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 2: Special Issue: BHR Landscape after 10 years of the UNGPs: An Assessment , June 2021 , pp. 377 - 383
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: The author declares none.

*

Anirudha Nagar is a human rights lawyer and Communities Director at Accountability Counsel (San Francisco, USA), which amplifies the voices of communities to defend their environmental and human rights. The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own.

References

1 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia, Never Again, Inquiry into the Destruction of 46,000 Year Old Caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia - Interim Report (December 2020) 1.

2 Ibid, 7.

3 Ibid.

4 ‘“I am ultimately accountable”: Rio Tinto Chairman to Stand Down after Cave Blast Disaster’, The Sydney Morning Herald (3 March 2021), https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/i-am-ultimately-accountable-rio-tinto-chairman-to-stand-down-after-cave-blast-disaster-20210303-p577bv.html (accessed 1 April 2021).

5 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, General Assembly Res. 61/295 (adopted on 13 September 2007), arts 11, 19, 28 and 29.

6 The consent requirement is also enshrined in the International Labour Organization Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention C169 (adopted on 27 June 1989, entered into force on 5 September 1991), arts 6 and 16.

7 Rio Tinto, ‘Our Approach to Respecting Human Rights’, https://www.riotinto.com/en/sustainability/human-rights (accessed 1 April 2021).

8 Rio Tinto, ‘Communities and Social Performance Standard’, 5, https://www.riotinto.com/-/media/Content/Documents/Sustainability/Corporate-policies/RT-Communities-social-performance-standard.pdf (accessed 1 April 2021).

9 Rio Tinto, ‘Board Review of Cultural Heritage Management’, https://www.riotinto.com/-/media/Content/Documents/News/RT-Cultural-Heritage-Board-Review.pdf?rev=6021fd0fe15e4d44823320225261abdc (accessed 1 April 2021), 19.

10 Southalan, John, ‘The FPIC Fixation: Indigenous – Mining Law, Internationally and Australia’ in International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development, and Investment (paper 22A in conference proceedings, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, 2019) 14 Google Scholar.

11 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, 6.

12 Rio Tinto, ‘Board Review’, note 9, 7.

13 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, 5.

14 Ibid, 12.

15 Ibid, 7.

16 See O’Faircheallaigh, Ciaran, ‘Negotiating Cultural Heritage? Aboriginal-Mining Company Agreements in Australia’ (2008) 39:1 Development and Change 25 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 Human Rights Council, ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’, A/HRC/17/31 (21 March 2011), Principle 31Google Scholar.

18 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, 18.

19 See Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, ‘Innovative Financing Solutions for Community Support in the Context of Land Investments’ (March 2019), http://ccsi.columbia.edu/2019/03/22/innovative-financing-solutions-for-community-support-in-the-context-of-land-investments (accessed 1 April 2021)Google Scholar.

20 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, vi.

21 International Finance Corporation, ‘Performance Standard 7 – Indigenous Peoples’ (1 January 2012), 5, https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/sustainability-at-ifc/policies-standards/performance-standards/ps7 (accessed 1 April 2021)Google Scholar.

22 Rio Tinto, ‘Board Review’, note 9, 14.

23 Ibid, 17.

24 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, vi.

25 International Finance Corporation, ‘Guidance Note 1: Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts’ (1 January 2012), 10, https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/6df1de8f-2a00-4d11-a07c-c09b038f947b/GN1_English_2012.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=mRQjKE9 (accessed 1 April 2021).

26 ‘Australian Super Says Rio Tinto Punishment Falls Short’, The Australian Financial Review (26 August 2020), https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/australiansuper-says-rio-tinto-punishment-falls-short-20200826-p55phz (accessed 1 April 2021).

27 Rio Tinto, ‘Ensuring this never happens again’, https://www.riotinto.com/news/inquiry-into-juukan-gorge (accessed 1 April 2021).

28 Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Never Again, note 1, 17.

29 Rio Tinto, ‘Board Review’, note 9, 16.