Olga Timofeeva-Tereshkina, First Vice-President of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North of Yakutia, Chairman of the Association of Dolgans of Yakutia, took part in a panel discussion on the development of diamond communities at the Kimberley Process (KP) Intersessional meeting in Dubai.
A number of representatives of local communities from Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of South Africa also took part in the discussion, the ALROSA press service reports.
The representative of Yakutia shared the successful experience of interaction between local communities and mining companies, talking about the law on ethnological expertise adopted in 2010. This law, supported by industry representatives, including ALROSA, protects the interests of all parties and brings their interaction to a modern civilized level.
“The law actually implements one of the international standards enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - on the free, prior and informed consent of local communities to develop mines on their territories,” said Olga Timofeeva-Tereshkina.
The expert shared information about a unique system for the global diamond industry, when local communities have a share of the stock of a diamond mining company through uluses. She also spoke about examples of successful interaction with ALROSA, thanks to which it was possible to preserve traditional sectors of economic activity. Currently, there is an agreement between ALROSA and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, aimed at reviving the culture, languages and traditions of indigenous peoples.
She also noted the importance of the KP initiative, thanks to which representatives of local communities took part in open discussion for the first time in 20 years.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
