Read the Final Statement published 20 July 2023: English

On 30 December 2020, Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker Deutschland (GfbV), an international NGO based on Germany and member of the Society for Threatened Peoples International, submitted a specific instance to the German NCP alleging that TÜV SÜD AG, an internationally active German service company, had not observed the General Policies (Chapter II), Human Rights (Chapter IV), and Environment (Chapter VI) provisions of the Guidelines. The specific instance was filed in connection with the breach of a tailings dam near the Brazilian municipality of Brumadinho in January 2019.

The submitter, considering stability declarations produced before the dam’s collapse by TÜV SÜD Bureau de Projetos e Consultoria Ltda (TSB), which is part of the TÜV SÜD group, considered that the company may be partially responsible for the breach. The submitter stressed the impact of the collapse on the indigenous population of the Pataxó and the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe due to the alleged failure of the company to act in compliance with the Guidelines.

The company expressed the opinion that the responsibility rested with Vale, a Brasilian MNE and the dam operator, as had already been established in court; and that it did not bear any responsibility for the collapse of the dam. The company stated that the stability declarations complied with the applicable Brazilian standards. It asserted that parallel proceedings prevented a discussion of the specifics of the case in the NCP process.

On 5 May 2022, the NCP completed an initial assessment and decided to partially accept the specific instance, deciding not to consider issues that had originally been raised under the Disclosure (Chapter III) provisions of the Guidelines as they had not been substantiated. The NCP offered a forward-looking mediation process, in coordination with the Brasilian NCP, which both parties accepted.

On 20 July 2023, the NCP published a final statement concluding the case as an agreement had been reached between the parties. Following four mediation sessions, the parties agreed on a confidential ‘catalogue of measures’ to address the issues, including concrete measures and declarations of intent aimed at strengthening the rights of indigenous peoples in business contexts, at TÜV SÜD and at suppliers and clients of TÜV SÜD.

As agreed by the parties, the NCP will follow up on the implementation of the agreement approximately twelve months after the publication of the final statement.

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