ITSCI PROGRAMME ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT
OF PROGRAMME OMBUDSMAN
The iTSCi minerals traceability and due diligence Programme is pleased to announce the
appointment of US law firm Foley Hoag, LLP as the iTSCi Programme Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman is available to deal independently with disputes or appeals between organisations
working on the Programme and its Members. This offers a method of finding a solution to any ongoing discussions on, for example, membership eligibility or expulsion, once all other efforts have
failed. The Ombudsman is entirely independent and neutral, and practices informally outside the
normal management of the Programme.
As the only law firm in the United States with a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Risk
Management practice, Foley Hoag, LLP works extensively with mining companies to manage legal
risk and safeguard corporate reputations. Foley Hoag mediated the only formal dispute to arise under
the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, a multi-stakeholder initiative composed of
mining, oil, and gas companies; governments; and NGOs; and has resolved numerous campaigns
against members of the extractive industry. Foley Hoag also advises companies in creating effective
grievance mechanisms: the firm authored a guide on grievance mechanisms for the International
Finance Corporation, and helps clients devise dispute resolution systems to manage their
relationships with workers and communities. Foley Hoag also helps companies establish and
implement voluntary industry codes.
Gare A. Smith will manage the role of Ombudsman at Foley Hoag. Mr. Smith chairs Foley Hoag’s
CSR practice, and heads the Secretariat for the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
Mr. Smith previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of State’s
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor, and was a U.S. representative to the U.N. Human
Rights Commission, the International Labor Organization, and the U.N. Working Group on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples. He has authored three books on codes of conduct and international human
rights standards, which were published by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation,
and provides counsel to extractive sector companies on every continent except Antarctica.
The iTSCi Programme currently has 56 provisional full and associate members spanning 17
countries, and operates at around 500 mine sites in Rwanda and the Katanga Province of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).