CSR ApproachHuman Rights and Security

GRI Indicators

Upholding human rights is fundamental to sustainable development – and to the success of our business. Our Human Rights Policy spells out our commitment to human rights, setting internationally accepted standards for business and labour practices, community participation and security measures.

In keeping with our policy, we also follow the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, an operating framework that ensures security practices include respect for human rights. Our approach is rooted in the belief that security begins with our relationships with neighbouring communities and the professional conduct of our employees and security contractors.

Our business units train security personnel on the United Nations (UN) Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, particularly in Peru. The training is provided to company employees as well as contractors and public security who are on-site at our request. Security supervisors and the majority of contracted security staff are unarmed except for government-mandated armed security guards at the two explosive storage areas in Peru.

In Peru, we regularly audit security policies and practices, and conduct gap analyses against the Voluntary Principles. Security personnel work closely with Constancia’s community relations team to maintain open lines of communication with local communities and mitigate potential issues.

Hudbay is named in three civil lawsuits relating to events prior to 2010 in Guatemala, where the Company once owned a controlling interest in Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN) and its Fenix ferro-nickel project. Information about the litigation is posted to our website.

2015 PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

Peru

Following the 2014 occupation of the Constancia property by members of a neighbouring community, and its incident-free resolution, we conducted a thorough security review that included interviews with security personnel and community leaders. Findings were shared at employee and security staff workshops so that everyone could learn from the incident and know what is expected of them.
We also engaged an NGO to audit Constancia’s security practices against the Voluntary Principles. The audit revealed opportunities for improvement, and our Peru team is evaluating the follow-up actions to be taken. Two beneficial outcomes of this process have been enhanced social and human rights risk assessment, and expanding engagement on security topics.
The Constancia community relations and security teams initiated meetings with their peers at other mining companies in the area to collaborate on security approaches and discuss social unrest affecting other mining projects.
Our Constancia security manager coordinated a series of monthly meetings of mining security managers in southern Peru. The group invited guest speakers from the Peruvian police force and local NGOs to share best practices, including their experiences with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.

Arizona

The Rosemont property is within 50 miles (80 kilometres) of the Mexican border, and we are in regular communication with various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies including the US Border Patrol, FBI, USDA Forest Service, AZ Department of Safety, Pima County Sheriff and local EMS to ensure adequate protection for Hudbay workers and assets. Three meetings were held in 2015, and the decision was made to hold these meetings monthly in 2016.
In the fall of 2015, we deemed it necessary to close public access to certain areas of private land on our property because of increasing safety hazards related to shafts and sinkholes from historic mining activities.

Manitoba

In addition to increased management oversight, we hired a third-party security management team at our operations during the 118-day labour strike. This was both to protect assets and non-striking workers and to provide a security resource. During this period, employees were required to show their company identification card to access our properties.