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Zimplats, Zimbabwe’s leading platinum group metals producer, has taken a significant step in strengthening its human rights practices by establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
By Ryan Chigoche
This agreement outlines the expected conduct for public security personnel interacting with Zimplats’ operations and surrounding communities, aiming to bridge the existing gap in human rights practices between the police and mining operations, ensuring respectful and lawful interactions.
This development follows a comprehensive gap analysis commissioned by Implats, Zimplats’ parent company, to align security practices across all Group-managed sites with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHRs).
The analysis focused on all Group-managed sites in the Southern Africa region, including Zimplats with the aim to identify the VPSHR-relevant management systems, processes, and practices of site-level private and public security providers, and to better understand site-level security risk exposure.
According to the company high-level outcomes from the gap analysis so far indicates that site-level private security providers’ practices are strongly aligned with the VPSHRs.
However, the alignment to the VPSHRs by public security forces, including the South African Police Service and the Zimbabwe Republic Police Services, is relatively weak. As a result the problem is investigating potential opportunities to share materials and training on VPSHRs with public security personnel.
These efforts are expected to positively impact Zimplats’ operations and its relationship with local communities. By fostering a culture of respect and accountability, Zimplats aims to mitigate potential human rights incidents and enhance its reputation as a responsible corporate entity.
As a going concern Zimplats in its committment to continuous improvement in its human rights practices the company plans to conduct an analysis of its human rights initiatives, with findings scheduled for completion in 2025.
This analysis will inform future strategies to further integrate human rights considerations into its operations.
