At the end of 2022, Batani Foundation President Pavel Sulyandziga became a member of the Board of The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), an organization that has developed some of the highest standards for indigenous rights. This organization brings together representatives of different, often conflicting parties – business, trade unions, human rights activists, indigenous peoples, environmentalists. For example, the members of the organization are – 1. businesses – Tesla, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Microsoft, AngloAmerican, Tiffany and others, 2. environmentalists – Earthworks, IUCN, Fauna and Flora International, Rivers without Borders, 3. human rights organizations – Human Rights Watch, Society for Threatened People. The Batani Foundation will represent indigenous peoples in IRMA.
We hope that the cooperation between the Batani Foundation and IRMA will help in protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, and that Pavel Sulyandziga’s participation in the work of IRMA as a member of the IRMA Board will be successful and productive.