As resources become scarcer and mining activities move into new territories, obtaining a social licence to operate has become increasingly important. At the heart of this social licence must be an adherence to, and promotion of, human rights - from the right to non-discrimination, to the right to clean drinking water and sanitation.

While most of us are fortunate enough to take these basic human rights for granted, many of the territories in which the mining industry now operates face situations of weak governance and conflict that can compromise the ability or will of governments to protect the human rights of their citizens.

In its annual ‘Freedom in the World’ report for 2014, Freedom House estimates that 41% of Sub-Saharan African countries are still categorised as ‘not free’, an increase of six percentage points since 2003.

The report also found that for the region as a whole, all seven categories of political rights and civil liberties have declined over the past five years. The results are even more alarming in the Middle East and North Africa, where the report rates 66% of countries as ‘not free’.

According to G4S, the industry needs to act and act quickly, because mining companies and their partners have an opportunity to set the standard in promoting the respect of human rights in some of the world’s most complex social and political environments, leveraging its significant footprint in many of these countries to effect positive change.  Progressive companies within the industry have acknowledged this and have begun to clearly define and communicate their respective positions on human rights.

The new G4S guidance framework acknowledges that the company can contribute positively to the protection and promotion of human rights, however, it also recognises that it has a duty to ensure that G4S is not at risk of violating human rights through the services that it provides, and the customers and suppliers that it works with and through the company's treatment of employees and others who are in its care.

G4S is also seeing customers and other stakeholders increasingly asking them to demonstrate specific actions and practices that are aligned to internationally accepted human rights standards, such as the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights, which is what its policy and framework is focused on.

It is encouraging that the industry has begun to recognise the importance of human rights by adopting well-publicised policies and principles, however, there is clearly more that must be done.

Mining companies are already having to consider what measures they will take to protect employees in countries where governments may not be meeting their own duties to respect and protect human rights, but the industry should go further than this and work together to build a consensus that recognises that the industry’s responsibility on human rights extends beyond its own employees.

According to G4S, companies should view this not just as an ethical issue, but as a critical business risk that needs to be actively managed. The G4S framework includes the production of an annual ‘heat map’ that grades countries in terms of their human rights risks. This gives G4S managers an at-glance guide to potential problem areas or territories needing a greater human rights focus, and allows them to tailor activities and expertise accordingly.