World Bank Group’s Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is formally closing its dispute resolution process related to the complaints by the herder community residing and raising livestock near the Oyu Tolgoi LLC mine site.
The decision to close complaints was made upon the conclusion by the Tripartite Council (TPC), equally composed of representatives of Khanbogd administration, herders and Oyu Tolgoi LLC with two settlement agreements having been satisfactorily complied. Therefore all future complaints by citizens of Khanbogd will be resolved through the TPC, without the assistance and monitoring of the CAO.
Closure of complaints lodged to the CAO and consensus was reached by establishing stable and reliable mechanism of cooperation and trust between the company, the local government and community, built in the process of dispute resolution. The decision to terminate CAO’s involvement in the dispute resolution process was ratified on November 2018. This is a success story for both local community and the international mining community.
On October 2012 and February 2013, CAO received complaints from two groups of herders with a support from the OT Watch, a national non-governmental organization, and Goviin Gazar Shoroo, a local non-governmental organization. From 2013 to 2019, CAO’s dispute resolution function convened a mediation and monitoring of settlement agreements between the community, OT and the local government. The parties founded the TPC and reached two final settlement agreements in 2015 and 2017 respectively. The TPC is responsible for discussing and resolving issues related to herders’ pasture, water, and other relevant matters raised in the complaints, as well as exchange of information regarding the process, providing opinions or recommendations and ensuring their implementation, and referring matters to the relevant competent organizations.
The complaints raised concerns related to the project’s impacts on nomadic life through use of the land and water, and on the herders’ nomadic culture and livelihood. They further claimed the inadequacy of OT’s 2004 resettlement plan and 2011 economic displacement compensation program, as well as potential negative impacts of the Undai River diversion on the local community.
Some achievements of two Agreements on resolution of herders’ complaints and actions that are being successfully implemented as of December 2018 as follows:
-The TPC provided 2.6 billion MNT to 129 claimants for a compensation related to physical and economic displacement by OT project
-Total of 38 university students from herders' households have received scholarship support worth of 126 million MNT
-10 wells have been equipped with solar-powered pumps with a funding of 150 million MNT. Although CAO dispute resolution process is over, TPC will continue the implementation of a number of commitments and projects within the sustainable livelihood programs stated in May 2017 agreements on resolving herders complaints. Namely, establishment of herders’ market, a
project to support creation of a supply chain for producers of livestock originated raw materials, building of slaughter line with permanent operation, improving health services for herders, increasing the communication coverage in Khanbogd soum, implementation of the project “Young Herder” to support and assist young herders, conducting a comprehensive study on resources of pasture and water, and developing and implementing pasture use plan for the soum based study and so forth.
World Bank Group’s Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is formally closing its dispute resolution process related to the complaints by the herder community residing and raising livestock near the Oyu Tolgoi LLC mine site.
The decision to close complaints was made upon the conclusion by the Tripartite Council (TPC), equally composed of representatives of Khanbogd administration, herders and Oyu Tolgoi LLC with two settlement agreements having been satisfactorily complied. Therefore all future complaints by citizens of Khanbogd will be resolved through the TPC, without the assistance and monitoring of the CAO.
Closure of complaints lodged to the CAO and consensus was reached by establishing stable and reliable mechanism of cooperation and trust between the company, the local government and community, built in the process of dispute resolution. The decision to terminate CAO’s involvement in the dispute resolution process was ratified on November 2018. This is a success story for both local community and the international mining community.
On October 2012 and February 2013, CAO received complaints from two groups of herders with a support from the OT Watch, a national non-governmental organization, and Goviin Gazar Shoroo, a local non-governmental organization. From 2013 to 2019, CAO’s dispute resolution function convened a mediation and monitoring of settlement agreements between the community, OT and the local government. The parties founded the TPC and reached two final settlement agreements in 2015 and 2017 respectively. The TPC is responsible for discussing and resolving issues related to herders’ pasture, water, and other relevant matters raised in the complaints, as well as exchange of information regarding the process, providing opinions or recommendations and ensuring their implementation, and referring matters to the relevant competent organizations.
The complaints raised concerns related to the project’s impacts on nomadic life through use of the land and water, and on the herders’ nomadic culture and livelihood. They further claimed the inadequacy of OT’s 2004 resettlement plan and 2011 economic displacement compensation program, as well as potential negative impacts of the Undai River diversion on the local community.
Some achievements of two Agreements on resolution of herders’ complaints and actions that are being successfully implemented as of December 2018 as follows:
-The TPC provided 2.6 billion MNT to 129 claimants for a compensation related to physical and economic displacement by OT project
-Total of 38 university students from herders' households have received scholarship support worth of 126 million MNT
-10 wells have been equipped with solar-powered pumps with a funding of 150 million MNT. Although CAO dispute resolution process is over, TPC will continue the implementation of a number of commitments and projects within the sustainable livelihood programs stated in May 2017 agreements on resolving herders complaints. Namely, establishment of herders’ market, a
project to support creation of a supply chain for producers of livestock originated raw materials, building of slaughter line with permanent operation, improving health services for herders, increasing the communication coverage in Khanbogd soum, implementation of the project “Young Herder” to support and assist young herders, conducting a comprehensive study on resources of pasture and water, and developing and implementing pasture use plan for the soum based study and so forth.