Environmental Due Diligence and Remedy in the Critical Minerals Boom: The Role of NHRIs and State Oversight

Background 

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Africa is central to the energy transition, as it holds vast reserves of critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and manganese. This positions the continent as a key supplier for the global so-called “green rush”, with demand for these minerals set to triple by 2030.

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However, there is a danger of continuing social and environmental harms and exploitation carried out over decades in the African extractive industry, from the oil fields of the Niger Delta to Congolese cobalt mines. In these and other places across the continent, fragile ecosystems have been devastated, and the rights of local communities to livelihood, food, clean water, and a healthy environment have been repeatedly abused.

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Companies involved in the critical mineral extraction should develop robust human rights and environmental due diligence in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as with regional and domestic corporate sustainability due diligence and reporting requirements. They must recognize Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes with local populations, and the importance of ongoing dialogue with community representatives as well as local authorities, and boost access to remedies, including by improving the effectiveness of their operational-level grievance mechanisms.

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In the upcoming years, renewables are set to overtake coal as the world’s largest source of electricity. And the transition to a low-carbon economy cannot be based solely on the extraction of value. There is an unprecedented opportunity for the critical mineral extraction industry in Africa to move rapidly towards regenerative models based on partnership, shared long-term benefit, respect for human rights, and environmental protection and restoration.

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National Human Rights Instructions and state oversight are the key to unlocking this opportunity.

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Key Objectives

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• Outline the key challenges and opportunities created by vast reserves of critical minerals in Africa for its sustainable development;

• Explore the key features of responsible critical mineral extraction;

• Discuss the role of NHRI’s and state oversight of responsible business practices in the critical mineral extraction industry in Africa, particularly of corporate due diligence and remedies;

• Map out the concrete actions – across policy, legislative, and corporate realms – needed to shift the critical mineral extraction industry in Africa from pure value extraction to regenerative models built on the respect for human rights and environmental action;

• Present the UNDP’s Practical Tool for Business on Human Rights Due Diligence and the Environment and the upcoming Guide for NHRIs on the Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment, and explain their relevance to African stakeholders.