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Policy & Advocacy Working Group

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Policy

A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual.

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National Legislation

Dodd-Frank Act (2010) – Section 1502 – U.S.

1st time gold assigned “conflict mineral” status
Limited geographic scope (DRC and neighbors)

Conflict Minerals Regulation (2021) – EU

Conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs)
Mandatory due diligence compliance for importers

PL 191/2020, Brazil

Open mining inside Indigenous territories
Violates right to sovereignty and FPIC

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International Policy

Minamata Convention on Mercury

Gradual Mercury Phase Out

OECD Mineral Supply Chain Guidance

International due diligence standard

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)

Indigenous right to sovereignty and self-determination
Recognized by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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Company Policy

Supply Chain

Responsible sourcing
Transparency and public reporting

Third-Party Certifications

Fairtrade, Fairmined, IRMA, etc.

Voluntary Associations

Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC)
London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)

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What is Advocacy?

Initiating and supporting change on a corporate, local, state or federal level.

Ideas

Education

Resources

Action

Follow-up

It’s important for us to talk about what advocacy is and how to do it, because without a working framework for action, all we are left with is sadness and outrage. Advocacy isn’t simply a concept - it is a process that can be trained and learned, and it is remarkably simple and logical. But until one has been exposed to this way of thinking about change, it’s not necessarily obvious or intuitive. So that’s what we’re doing today - presenting this simple framework so we can all be more successful in our pursuit of change.

What is Advocacy?

Supporting a change or creation of an issue on a corporate, local, state, or federal level.

Idea
Education
Resources
Action
Follow-up

A recent example we can use to illustrate this is the Global Gold transparency initiative that myself, members of Amazon Aid, the Responsible Jewelry Transformative, and a network of other industry, government, NGO and advocacy groups collaborated together on.

Purpose: After the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we wanted to ensure that gold from Russian stockpiles was not going to make its way into jewelry industry supply chains, thereby co-opting those of us in the industry into funding Russia’s war.

It started with a question - an idea.Christina Miller posed it as a question during a Cleaner Gold Network meeting: Should we be worried about Russian gold? At first, it was just an idea, percolating in our heads. We didn’t act on it that day.

After pondering that idea, we needed education.

Challenge assumptions

In the process of getting education, we had started gathering resources - people we went to for advice who were interested in continuing their participation and support of this concern.

Gathered more.

Action. We had to decide WHAT we were going to do, and HOW FAST we needed to do it.

Compromises are part of action. TIME in this case.
Never compromise on core principles. But compromise to achieve specific purposes that are consistent with your principles.

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Perspective Matters

Who are you advocating for?

Self-Advocacy:�Representing the self.
Individual Advocacy:�Representing others.
Systems Advocacy: �Representing a group or community.

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Principles of Advocacy

Clarity of Purpose

Safeguard

Inclusion, Equality & Diversity

Seek Understanding Before Action

Empowerment of Those for Whom You Advocate

Put People First

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Advocacy Skills

Nobody has all these.�That’s why groups are powerful.

Listening
Communication
Collaboration
Presentation
Maintaining Professional Relationships

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Steps of Advocacy

Determine a clear objective. Set a goal!
Do your research.
Define the target.
Focus on building relationships and teams.
Define your message.
Set a timeline.
Drive change through communications:

Social Media
Email
Digital Tools
Letters
Visits

Educate members on how to communicate with corporations and legislators.
Develop a grassroots strategy – don’t wait for change from the top!