Human Rights

Wherever we operate in the world, we meet or exceed local laws and our corporate policies. Human rights are “the basic rights of each human being, independent of race, sex, religion, political opinion, social status, or any other characteristic.” ¹

We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As part of our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we are committed to:

• Supporting and respecting the protection of international human rights
• Remaining free of complicity in abuses of human rights.

As the scope of human rights is evolving, so is our understanding of how our activities can potentially impact on human rights. Until recently, we have operated mainly in Canada and the United States, and therefore have not had the same human rights challenges as other mining companies face in areas with different government regulations. However, as we expand our operations –and as the scope of human rights continues to evolve and include aspects such as the right to water, the right to education, and the right to participate in cultural life – we understand the need to continue integrating business practices consistent with global human rights standards.

Our investment agreements currently do not include specific human rights screening components, but Operations/business units establish processes to verify that all business activities comply with Teck policies.

Performance

To remain free of complicity in human rights violations due to inappropriate security enforcement, we must ensure that our security personnel, both directly and indirectly employed by Teck, must receive human rights training.

In Canada, where employees generally perform security duties as part of their other duties, many are aware of human rights issues and those related to privacy, labour, etc., but have no specific human rights training per se. In the US however, and primarily at Red Dog, those employees who perform security duties at the airport undergo human rights awareness training as part of the instruction for Homeland Security/Airport Screening.

Third-party security personnel who work for Teck at any of our global Operations also undergo human rights training. In areas of higher risk, security workshops are hosted by Teck’s Risk Management Group, and include training on human rights.

There were no reported incidents of human rights violations during 2007.