SOCO Welcomes UK NCP's Reminder to not Misrepresent the NCP Process

LONDON, March 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

SOCO welcomes the comments made by the UK National Contact Point ("NCP") for the OECD Guidelines, in a letter sent on 7th March 2014 to all parties involved (click here to read the UK NCP's letter: http://www.socointernational.co.uk/letter-from-ncp ). The NCP's letter is a request for best conduct during the complaints process, specifically noting the publicity and press statements issued by WWF last week erroneously stating that the OECD, in the form of its UK National Contact Point, is examining SOCO's operations.

The NCP stated that it does not generally comment on a complaint outside of its formal publications.  However, it has believed it necessary, exceptionally, to issue this letter in this case following publicity last week.   

SOCO is delighted that the NCP has issued this letter as it has been disappointed by WWF's dissemination of inaccurate reporting of the NCP's Initial Assessment (published on 14 February 2014). Moreover, the WWF has approached the Company's shareholders with erroneous statements about its activities in Virunga National Park, as well as about the NCP process itself.

As stated in the NCP's letter, if "either party to a complaint makes deliberate public statements which contain incorrect or misleading information relating to the status or the conclusions of the Initial Assessment, or fails to correct such comments made in error, this can undermine the integrity of the NCP process".

The NCP's letter also quotes the OECD Guidelines, which ask both parties to a complaint to refrain "from misrepresenting the process and from threatening or taking reprisals against parties involved in the procedure."

SOCO welcomes this public reminder from the NCP, and looks forward to being able to enter into the impending mediation process with WWF with a view to conducting a sensible discussion on the issues to the benefit of the people of the DRC.