Enhancing EU Resource Governance Interventions: A Call for Prioritising Human Security

The document critiques the EU's reliance on 'formalisation'—the use of legalisation and transparency measures—to govern natural resource sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Using case studies from Sierra Leone's diamond sector and Liberia's forest sector, it argues that these technocratic reforms often fail to improve the lives of local citizens and can even entrench predatory practices. The author proposes adopting a UN-developed 'human security' approach, which prioritises the security of individuals over the security of the state and focuses on tangible, bottom-up results at the local level.

• The EU's dominant strategy of 'formalisation' in natural resource governance focuses on legalisation and transparency to reduce negative externalities, but often prioritises administrative activities over actual impacts on human wellbeing.
• In Sierra Leone, formalisation efforts in the diamond sector, including the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and EITI compliance, increased official exports but failed to legalise artisanal production or improve the human security of local communities.
• Industrial diamond mining in Sierra Leone has provided negligible economic benefits to the state, with combined royalties for diamonds and gold totaling $3.2 million in 2016 (0.1% of GDP), while causing resettlement and environmental pollution.
• In Liberia, the EU's Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) for forest sector legalisation prioritises industrial exports over the domestic timber economy and has not improved human security for forest communities.
• Liberian forest communities face significant barriers to accountability due to a lack of knowledge regarding lawful procedures and low literacy levels in English, the language of the law.
• The document recommends that the EU adopt a UN-based human security approach, which shifts focus from state security to individual security across seven interrelated areas, including economic, food, and health security.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). Enhancing EU Resource Governance Interventions: A Call for Prioritising Human Security. https://saiia.org.za/research/enhancing-eu-resource-governance-interventions-a-call-for-prioritising-human-security/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Enhancing EU Resource Governance Interventions: A Call for Prioritising Human Security. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/enhancing-eu-resource-governance-interventions-a-call-for-prioritising-human-security/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Enhancing EU Resource Governance Interventions: A Call for Prioritising Human Security |date=31 May 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/enhancing-eu-resource-governance-interventions-a-call-for-prioritising-human-security/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019enhancing, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Enhancing EU Resource Governance Interventions: A Call for Prioritising Human Security}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/enhancing-eu-resource-governance-interventions-a-call-for-prioritising-human-security/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }