Norilsk Nickel, represented by Andrey Grachev, Vice President for Federal and Regional Programs, took an active part in this discussion, sharing its experience in supporting the indigenous minorities of the north.
Noting that the company was seriously dealing with these issues back in Soviet times, Andrey Grachev said that at that time each Norilsk Nickel enterprise used to solve the problems of a separate village and there was no general system of such assistance. The impetus for the company’s change in its approach to this activity was given by the oil spill in May 2020. “We realized that we must compensate people for what actually happened as a result of the accident at Thermal Power Plant-3. We conducted surveys, we conducted an ethnological expert review, we held a meeting with community leaders, and we jointly compiled lists of affected families with them,” the vice president said noting that a total of 177 million rubles were paid to 51 indigenous communities.
According to him, later the company held talks with 38 largest communities of Taimyr and collected their wishes, thus realizing the principle of "nothing for us without us." As a result, an agreement was signed with a 10-year action plan, for which Norilsk Nickel allocated 2 billion rubles. The plan envisages 42 events, including not only the construction of houses and cultural centers, but also the protection of the original culture of indigenous peoples.
“Indeed, we have achieved something in this regard. We have made a policy regarding the rights of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, and we have approved this policy at the company’s Board of Directors,” Andrey Grachev said disclosing that in order to implement such a policy, the company, together with representatives of the indigenous peoples, created an appropriate administrative framework and allocated funding.
In the future, it was decided to create a school of public diplomacy, which will enable the representatives of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North to tell about their achievements and problems from rostrums of such organizations as the UN and the Arctic Council.
Touching upon the issues that arise with people living in technologically hazardous areas, the vice president of Norilsk Nickel said that as a result of a survey among such residents, the company laid the foundation for the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) procedure. “From our point of view, this is a litmus test for any company's civilized image,” said Andrey Grachev. “And then, when we achieved this, we came to the conclusion that that concept, that policy towards the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, which we adopted two years ago, is hopelessly outdated.”
Norilsk Nickel needed the help of international experts, including Alexey Tsykarev, Vice Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, to change this policy and make it more modern.
“Here, of course, we are not alone, because everyone helped us, primarily the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs,” Andrey Grachev said in conclusion. - Therefore, I think this: taking into account the increased indicators of your birth rate, with the support of the administration of the President of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs and our senators, we will come to the understanding that the term ‘small-numbered’ will soon disappear among the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North or will be replaced by ‘numerous.’"
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium and other products.
The production units of Norilsk Nickel Group are located at the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as well as in Finland.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges, ADRs are accepted for trading on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange.
Norilsk Nickel fully supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Company considers social responsibility and commitment to the principles of sustainable development as one of the pillars of operational efficiency and business development. Nornickel seeks to continuously improve its activities in the areas of environmental protection, human rights, health and safety, environmental impact assessment, and biodiversity preservation. The company spent RUB 221.5 billion on SDG-linked projects in 2021.
Vladimir Malakhov, Rough&Polished
