Land Rights

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Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

II. SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT


LAND RIGHTS RECOGNITION PROGRAMS

Under the Indonesian constitution, all unimproved land is, by law, owned by the government and all minerals belong to the government. PT Freeport Indonesia's "January Agreement" of 1974 with the Amungme was the first recognition in Indonesia of hak ulayat, or the right of traditional people to undeveloped land they used for hunting and gathering. Subsequent to that agreement, the government formally recognized the right to compensation for hak ulayat land rights. Compensation in the form of rekognisi, or recognition, is paid to communities for a release of hak ulayat rights, as hak ulayat is a communal property right. PT Freeport Indonesia has paid recognition in several instances over the years through programs mutually agreed upon with the affected local Papuans and the government.
 

Two such multi-year rekognisi programs in 2003 were:
 
  • The Kamoro Village Recognition Program, a five-year program compensating for the release of land to the government by five Kamoro villages in the lowlands, including land used for the tailings deposition area, cargo dock facilities, the port and electrical transmission line corridor.
  • The Tiga Desa (Three Village) Development Program, a similar program for three Amungme villages in the highlands. This program provided additional recognition to the Amungme living nearest the mine, who had been compensated in the 1974 agreement, for the expanded scope and continuing success of our operations.
These two programs provided millions of dollars worth of infrastructure, social and economic development projects including housing, school buildings and student dormitories, medical clinics, places of worship, community buildings, office buildings, roads, bridges, water tanks, electrical power, motorboats for transportation and fishing, sports facilities and feasibility studies for business opportunities.

In addition, the Land Rights Trust Fund for the Amungme and Kamoro communities was created in 2001 to provide voluntary special recognition for the holders of the hak ulayat, or traditional land rights, in the mining area and for the expanded scope and continuing success of the mining operations. PT Freeport Indonesia provided $2.5 million initially and annual contributions thereafter at a current level of $1 million annually, enabling the Amungme and Kamoro tribes to use some of these funds to purchase shares in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., thereby becoming stakeholders in the mine.
 
Nearly half of the homeowners in the modern environmental planned community of Kuala Kencana are indigenous Papuans.

SOCIAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS PERFORMANCE AUDIT


Our Social, Employment and Human Rights Policy reflects the general standards for the social and economic development of the people within PT Freeport Indonesia's Contract of Work area; the commitment of the company to the increased employment of native Papuans, both in number and positions of authority; and the respect for and protection of the human rights of employees, their dependents and the local community around our operations. While we believe we have a strong policy, only effective implementation of its goals will make it a reality. In 2003, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., PT Freeport Indonesia and the International Center for Corporate Accountability (ICCA) announced that ICCA will audit our policy, which has been adopted by both companies, to assess its effectiveness and the extent of our compliance.

During 2003, teams from ICCA traveled to Papua to gather information to be the basis of benchmarks in a reporting system. Once the reporting system is complete, ICCA will review it with our staff to ensure understanding. Following this process, the formal audit will begin and is expected to be completed by the end of 2004. ICCA will report its findings to the company, noting areas where improvements are needed. The company will respond with a plan to implement these improvements. Both ICCA's report and the company's response will be made public.
 
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