The 15th Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains will be held virtually on 2-6 May 2022 and will bring together representatives from government, business, and civil society. Plenary sessions will take place at 11h30-12h45 and 13h30-14.45 CET, while partner-led sessions will take place in the mornings and afternoons.
The Forum will provide the opportunity to review and discuss the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas and other initiatives to enable responsible mineral production and sourcing. This year, the Forum will devote particular attention to critical minerals and the role of supply chain due diligence in enabling critical minerals to contribute to a just low-carbon transition. The Forum will also feature sessions on market access for artisanal and small-scale mining and the coherence of due diligence systems. Other sessions will feature technical discussions on using monitoring and evaluation to identify key systemic blockages to due diligence, using supply chain due diligence to address emerging risks, and those with growing awareness like environmental impacts in mining, and identifying conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM), in collaboration with the OECD, is making special efforts to address key gender concerns throughout the Forum in order to further strengthen the implementation of gender-responsive due diligence. We provide guiding questions for Forum speakers and for attendees to start or deepen the discussions. WRM also monitors gender and social inclusion throughout the Forum sessions, including Partner Sessions. More information on the monitoring results of the 2021 Forum and information on this year’s Forum can be found here.
The goal here is to promote more effective due diligence through more inclusive representation in our own events, convening and stakeholder outreach. Other relevant tools include the Stakeholder Statement on Implementing Gender-Responsive Due Diligence and ensuring the human rights of women in Mineral Supply Chains and the 10 Do’s, a guide for governments, companies and practitioners to support women’s rights and mitigate gender risks during OECD due diligence implementation.