Barrick Gold and DIHR Relationship

The relationship between Barrick Gold and the DIHR will support the expansion of the Human Rights and Business Country Portal, a freely available website that, once launched, will help businesses identify, assess and address human rights risks in specific countries around the world.

The relationship will also enable the DIHR to engage with local stakeholders in select Portal countries where Barrick Gold operates, helping to ensure the dissemination of Country Portal briefings, thus establishing a facts-base on local human rights and business issues that may facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue. Finally, the DIHR will develop bespoke country risk assessments and advice to Barrick Gold on countries in which it operates or plans to operate.

"DIHR engages with companies around the world to help them avoid and address negative human rights impacts” said Allan Lerberg Jørgensen, Director of the DIHR’s Human Rights and Business Department.

"Our collaboration with Barrick Gold will allow us to engage with human rights challenges and build strong partnerships on human rights and business issues in select countries.”
 
“We have great respect for the DIHR and welcome this opportunity to work together to better ensure that we meet our responsibility to respect human rights in the countries where we do business,” said Jamie Sokalsky, CEO of Barrick Gold.

“This ongoing partnership is one of a series of proactive steps we are taking to improve human rights compliance across the company.”

Most immediately, the DIHR Country Portal briefings will be used to inform third party human rights assessments, which are being conducted over a three year period at all Barrick operations and advanced projects. These assessments evaluate the effectiveness of Barrick’s human rights compliance systems at the site level and are part of the due diligence guidelines outlined in the UN Framework and Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Jamie Sokalsky added, “We hope other global companies will also benefit from DIHR research and tools that will be made available through this partnership.”

About Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold is the world’s largest gold producer, with a portfolio of 26 operating mines, advanced exploration and development projects located across five continents, and large land positions on the most prolific and prospective mineral trends. Barrick’s Corporate Social Responsibility Advisory Board was formed in 2012 and acts as an external sounding board on a range of corporate responsibility issues, including community relations, sustainable development, water, energy, climate change, security, and human rights. John Ruggie, author of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, serves as a Special Consultant to the Board as part of his advisory role in the CSR practice at Foley Hoag LLP.

About DIHR
DIHR is an independent National Human Rights Institution established by an act of Danish Parliament in 1987 and modeled in accordance with the UN Paris Principles. The chief objective of DIHR is to promote and develop knowledge about human rights on a national, regional and international basis, predicated on the belief that human rights are universal, mutually interdependent and interrelated. Since 1999, DIHR has become a leader in addressing the impacts of the private-sector, and has conducted projects with transnational corporations worldwide.

For further information, please contact Paloma Munoz Quick, Advisor: pamu@humanrights.dk