A Win-Win for Europe and Africa: Extractive Justice and Resource Interdependency

This briefing examines the inequitable resource interdependency between Europe and Africa in the extractive sector. It argues that a symbiotic relationship can be achieved by implementing 'extractive justice'—incorporating procedural, distributive, and recognitional justice—into legal and policy frameworks to address wealth imbalances and governance deficits.

• The trade relationship between Europe and Africa regarding mineral and energy resources is defined by a resource-based interdependency where Europe holds the dominant position in wealth accumulation. Africa provides critical resources, including most of the global demand for uranium, phosphate, cobalt, and rare earth metals, and supplied approximately one-quarter of Europe's oil demand in 2012.
• Current EU policy tools have limitations in addressing structural inequalities. While the EU Transparency Directive and Accounting Directive have made progress against corruption, they have not addressed the illicit outflow of tax revenue. Additionally, the EU Raw Materials Initiative and the Joint Africa–EU Strategy (JAES) have been criticized as superficial because the relationship remains unbalanced with Europe dominant.
• The African Mining and Development Centre (AMDC), which coordinates the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), struggles with wealth inequality resulting from the mining sector. Overcoming these challenges requires addressing governance deficits, closing knowledge gaps, and focusing on infrastructural considerations to enable independent economic growth.
• The concept of 'extractive justice' is proposed as a framework to resolve resource-related conflicts, which have increased over the last 15 years and cost companies millions of dollars. This framework consists of three pillars: distributive justice (sharing benefits and reversing inequalities), recognitional justice (recognizing a social group's 'way of life'), and procedural justice (ensuring impartial and inclusive decision-making processes).
• The emergence of a multipolar world, specifically with China becoming a leading trade partner for African resources, necessitates a reconceptualization of EU-African relations and the associated legal and policy frameworks.
• There is a persistent disconnect between available expertise and the actual solutions pursued, meaning further academic and practical effort is needed to translate knowledge into improved legal and policy frameworks that benefit both regions.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). A Win-Win for Europe and Africa: Extractive Justice and Resource Interdependency. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-win-win-for-europe-africa-extractive-justice-and-resource-interdependency/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A Win-Win for Europe and Africa: Extractive Justice and Resource Interdependency. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-win-win-for-europe-africa-extractive-justice-and-resource-interdependency/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A Win-Win for Europe and Africa: Extractive Justice and Resource Interdependency |date=31 May 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-win-win-for-europe-africa-extractive-justice-and-resource-interdependency/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019winwin, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A Win-Win for Europe and Africa: Extractive Justice and Resource Interdependency}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-win-win-for-europe-africa-extractive-justice-and-resource-interdependency/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }