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According to an RJC auditor, suppliers only require to pledge that they carry out solid human civil liberties due diligence, yet do not supply any type of evidence for this. Neither does the Code of Practices need jewelersor various other downstream companiesto have traceability or chain of protection of their gold or diamonds. The Code of Practices is likewise weak in various other substantive locations, for example, on indigenous individuals' rights and on resettlement.


In March 2017, the RJC had 342 participants who had not (yet) finished the audit process that accredits conformity with the Code of Practices. Furthermore, companies can sign up with at any kind of degree of their procedures. For instance, a little subsidiary workplace of a large jewelry firm could make an application for RJC subscription, without including the remainder of the company's entities.


The Code of Practices does not need firms to publicly report on the concrete actions they have taken to carry out due diligencea core requirement of the OECD Assistance (black diamond jewellery). Its reporting obligations are vague and do not discuss due diligence or the requirement for companies to report on the actions they have actually taken to determine, analyze, and minimize dangers in their supply chains

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A 2nd RJC requirement, the Chain-of-Custody Requirement, advertises traceability and is more extensive, however adherence to it is optional for RJC participants. By very early 2018, just 48 of over 1,000 member companies had licensed entities under the criterion, consisting of 13 jewelers. The Chain-of-Custody Requirement requires companies to establish documentary proof of organization transactions along the supply chain and to confirm they are not causing damaging impacts in conflict-affected and risky areas.


Rather, firms are allowed to choose some "entities" under their control for qualification, leaving other entities of a company uncertified. While this might enable firms to slowly switch to more accountable sourcing methods, the present technique also lugs the danger that a whole company takes pleasure in the reputational advantage when the bulk of operations is not in conformity with the criterion.


All RJC participant companies have to go through an audit to demonstrate that they are certified with the Code of Practices, and to obtain accreditation. Those firms that pick to obtain accreditation for the Chain-of-Custody Criterion need to undertake a separate audit. Audits are based mainly on a review of the business's created plans and documents, and sees to a "representative set" of facilities.

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It is not a thorough exam regarding whether the company really applies or follows its plans throughout its procedures. For example, big firms might have procedures in several countries, and rely upon numerous vendors, but still might obtain RJC certification based on check outs to just a few facilities under its direct control without any kind of assessment of numerous others.


Although audits are intended to include questions on a broad variety of civils rights, auditors are not constantly certified civils rights specialists. Once the auditors finish their record, they just send a summary record of the audit to the RJC, not the full audit record, which is shared just with the company




While labor abuses prevail in the sector, artisanal mines supply earnings for numerous workers and thousands of mining communities. Civil rights Watch thinks that the jewelry sector should make every effort to make sure that their initiatives to alleviate supply chain civils rights risks do not lead them to just leave out all artisanal vendors from their supply chains as the "path of least resistance." Rather, they must support initiatives to formalize and professionalize artisanal mines and boost functioning problems.


The OECD Charge Persistance Guidance acknowledges this and is advertising cost-sharing within the industry. In this way, all companies along the supply chain share the economic problem. A number of initiatives have emerged that can help jewelry experts map their gold and diamonds to mines of beginning, and more sensibly source from the artisanal market.

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Concerning 600 grown-up miners have been registered at 6 mine websites; children can not register. Certification of certain mines against responsible sourcing standards can give jewelry experts with higher assurance that the gold or diamonds they buy from those mines are not tainted by civils rights abuses. Nongovernmental companies such as Solidaridad and influence can play a key duty in supporting mines to improve practices so they are able to follow the criterion; this may consist of actions to take on child labor, enhance environmental conduct, gain access to finance, and develop straight contact with customers.

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Two standardscertify artisanal and small gold mines that adapt to human civil liberties, labor rights, and environmental standardsthe Fairmined Standard and the Fairtrade Gold Standard (Tissot Watches). Depending on the customer's license with Fairmined, the gold may be fully traceable to the mine of origin, or may be blended with other gold.

This amount is just a small fraction of the gold utilized yearly by several of the companies examined in this report. As of early 2018, 8 mines in 4 countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Mongolia, web link and Peru) were accredited, with an extra 20 mining organizations functioning in the direction of accreditation. The Fairmined Gold Criterion is currently creating a new "market access" standard that seeks to help artisanal golden goose while doing so towards complete qualification.

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It is provided under the umbrella of Fairtrade International, and allows jewelers to trace their gold back completely to the mine of origin. Fairtrade's very first qualified mines were in Peru. Over the last few years, the Fairtrade Structure, Solidaridad, and other NGOs carried out a program of training and support to artisanal and small gold miners in Africa, and in early 2017, certified an artisanal cash cow in Uganda.