Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs)

Make a public, board level commitment to implementing the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights in extractive sector operations and embed the commitment in corporate policy.

• Board approved human rights policy referencing the VPs
• Public statement on the corporate website
• Annual sustainability report disclosure

• Commitment buried in sub policies and not publicly visible
• No board level approval evidence
• Policy not refreshed after restructuring or new asset acquisitions

Define accountable owners at corporate and asset level for implementation of the Voluntary Principles, including roles for security, human rights, community relations, and legal functions.

• RACI for VP implementation
• Steering committee charter
• Asset level VP champions list

• Sole reliance on the security function
• No community relations seat at the table
• No escalation route to executive leadership

Per VP: Annual Reporting + Multi-Stakeholder Engagement + Continuous Improvement + Incident Response.

• VP evidence for VPSHR-3

• risk + training partial

Maintain a system to report, record, and investigate all incidents involving use of force, alleged abuses, or harm to workers, community members, or security personnel.

• Incident management procedure
• Investigation reports for material incidents
• Root cause analysis
• Corrective action register

• Incidents recorded as security events with no human rights lens
• Investigation completed by the line of business involved
• No timeline for closure

Provide accessible mechanisms for workers, contractors, and community members to raise concerns about security related human rights impacts without retaliation.

• Grievance procedure including anonymous channels
• Statistics on grievances received and resolved
• Anti retaliation policy

• No community accessible channel beyond a corporate hotline
• Channels not communicated in local languages
• No evidence of effectiveness review

Cooperate with lawful investigations into incidents involving security forces and provide remediation where the company has caused or contributed to harm.

• Documented cooperation with authorities
• Remediation plans for harmed individuals or communities
• Closure letters

• Cooperation limited by legal posture without considering human rights obligations
• Remediation defined only as monetary compensation
• No follow up to confirm remediation was effective

Per VP: interactions including training + capacity + arms management + use of force consistent with human rights + complaints.

• VP evidence for VPSHR-2

• risk + training partial

Use private security companies that have policies and practices consistent with the Voluntary Principles, including human rights screening, background checks, and avoidance of personnel implicated in past abuses.

• Pre qualification questionnaire
• Background check procedure for private security personnel
• Excluded individuals list

• No vetting beyond local licensing
• No mechanism to flag personnel with abuse history
• Vetting outsourced fully to the contractor with no oversight

Include in private security contracts explicit obligations to comply with the Voluntary Principles, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers where applicable, proportional use of force, and cooperation with investigations.

• Model contract clauses
• Executed contracts with private security firms
• Compliance certification from contractors

• Generic compliance language with no VP specific obligations
• No reference to the International Code of Conduct
• No right to terminate for human rights non compliance

Require private security providers to limit the use of force to that which is strictly necessary and proportional, in line with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

• Use of force policy issued to security personnel
• Acknowledgement records
• Firearms register where applicable

• Policy not translated into local language
• No periodic refresher training
• Firearms inventory not reconciled

Ensure that private security personnel receive training on human rights, the Voluntary Principles, use of force, first aid, and respectful interaction with communities and workers.

• Training curriculum
• Training attendance records
• Refresher schedule
• Competency assessment results

• Training only on weapons handling with no human rights content
• No records kept for guards rotated frequently
• No verification of trainer credentials

Engage with host government and public security providers to express the company's expectations regarding human rights, proportional use of force, and respect for international standards.

• Memoranda of understanding with public security
• Meeting minutes with police or military authorities
• Briefing materials shared

• No written MoU
• Engagement limited to operational logistics with no human rights content
• No documentation of dialogue

Support, where appropriate, training of public security forces deployed to protect company operations on human rights, use of force, and the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.

• Training curriculum
• Attendance records of public security personnel
• Train the trainer plan

• Training delivered once at deployment and never refreshed
• No coverage of women, children, and vulnerable groups
• No method to verify trained individuals are actually on site

Monitor the conduct of public security forces protecting company facilities and record incidents involving use of force, detention, or alleged abuse.

• Incident log
• Daily occurrence reports
• Investigation files for serious incidents

• Incidents documented internally but never escalated to corporate
• No definition of what constitutes a reportable incident
• Records destroyed prematurely

Subject VPs implementation to periodic internal audit and, where appropriate, external assurance against recognized criteria.

• Internal audit plan including VPs
• Audit reports with findings and management responses
• External assurance statement where applicable

• VPs out of scope of corporate internal audit
• Findings closed without verification
• No second line review of self assessments

Capture lessons learned from incidents, audits, and stakeholder engagement and feed them into improvements in policy, training, contracts, and operational practice.

• Lessons learned register
• Updates to policy and contracts traceable to lessons
• Annual program improvement plan

• Lessons captured at site level but not shared across the portfolio
• No metrics for improvement
• Improvement actions without owners or due dates

Per Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights: Risk Assessment + Engagement with public and private security + commitment to international human rights + UN Code of Conduct.

• VP evidence for VPSHR-1

• risk + training partial

Submit annual implementation reports to the Voluntary Principles Initiative covering policy commitments, risk assessment, public and private security engagement, training, incidents, and remediation.

• Annual VPs implementation report
• Internal data collection workflow
• Sign off by accountable executive

• Reports late or skipped
• Aggregated reporting hiding asset level issues
• No internal audit of report content

Disclose publicly the company's approach to implementing the Voluntary Principles, including material incidents and remediation, in sustainability or human rights reporting.

• Sustainability report referencing VPs
• Human rights report
• Material incident disclosures

• Boilerplate reference to the VPs with no substance
• No disclosure of incidents or lessons learned
• No alignment with GRI or UNGPs reporting standards

Conduct a documented risk assessment for each operating context that identifies risks to human rights arising from interactions with public security, private security, and other security providers.

• Country risk profile
• Asset level risk register
• Stakeholder mapping
• Conflict sensitivity analysis

• Risk assessment limited to security threats against the company
• No analysis of risks to communities and workers
• Assessment not refreshed when operating context changes

Identify indicators of conflict, repression, and human rights abuses in the operating environment, including historical patterns of violence and the rule of law.

• Indicator framework
• Open source and academic sources reviewed
• Periodic indicator refresh log

• Indicators tracked but not used in decisions
• No threshold for escalation
• Reliance on government sources only

Assess the risks associated with transferring equipment such as vehicles, communications gear, or non lethal materials to public or private security and the potential for misuse against civilians.

• Equipment transfer register
• Pre transfer human rights assessment
• Post transfer monitoring records

• No record of equipment transfers
• Transfers handled informally by site managers
• No monitoring of how equipment is used

Engage proactively with affected communities, including indigenous peoples where applicable, to understand security related concerns and to communicate the company's expectations of security providers.

• Community engagement plan
• Meeting minutes with community representatives
• FPIC documentation where applicable

• Engagement only at project inception
• No women, youth, or vulnerable group representation
• FPIC treated as a one off consultation

Engage with civil society organizations and participate in the Voluntary Principles Initiative multi stakeholder dialogue at national and global levels.

• VPI membership documentation
• Plenary attendance
• In country working group participation

• Membership without active participation
• No engagement with critical civil society voices
• Reporting limited to internal channels