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Community-Company Engagement: Good Practice in Extractive Industries
The document explores how communities that face difficulties engaging with extractive companies use 'community-company engagements'—including dialogues, negotiations, and agreements—to formalize their participation, define the scope of impact assessments, establish conflict resolution mechanisms, and prepare for future socio-economic negotiations.
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Document type: Research paper
Protecting community Lands & resources in africa
The document provides a practitioner-focused guide to securing community land rights in Africa, detailing case studies on resolving land conflicts, strengthening local governance, and resisting forced resettlement. It emphasizes the importance of community self-definition, the use of Biocultural Community Protocols, and the necessity of multi-pronged advocacy strategies involving legal education, media engagement, and the building of alliances between grassroots movements and sympathetic government actors.
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Document type: Report
The Lima Declaration
The Lima Declaration, issued during the Peoples Summit on Climate Change in December 2014, rejects market-based climate solutions and the 'capitalist-patriarchal system'. It demands the recognition of territorial property rights for indigenous and peasant communities, the reparation of 'historical ecological debt' owed by developed countries to the global South, and a transition to a communal, feminist economy based on food sovereignty and agro-ecology. The document specifically denounces the influence of transnational corporations on the UNFCCC and calls for the cessation of extractive industries and agrofuel production.
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Document type: Statement
Declaración de Lima
The Lima Declaration, issued during the 2014 People's Summit, rejects market-based climate mechanisms and the 'green economy' as false solutions driven by capital. It demands the recognition of historical ecological debts owed by developed nations to the Global South, the protection of ancestral territories from extractive industries, and a transition to a feminist, communal, and agroecological economic model. The statement specifically calls for a global financial transaction tax and compensation for non-industrialized countries that avoid exploiting fossil fuels, while criticizing the Peruvian government's role as COP 20 president for prioritizing private investment over human and environmental rights.
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Document type: Statement
Community-Company Engagements: “Good” Practice in the Extractive Industries?
The document analyzes the evolution of community-company engagements in the mining, oil, and gas sectors, emphasizing the need for community-driven processes to ensure fair outcomes. It categorizes types of agreements—ranging from Joint Venture Agreements to Consultation and Negotiation Agreements—and evaluates the risks associated with government-led processes. Through case studies in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Ghana, the paper highlights the importance of self-identification of affected communities and the role of international human rights frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles and FPIC, in protecting community rights.
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Document type: Research paper
REVIEW OF NATIONAL LAWS AND POLICIES THAT SUPPORT OR UNDERMINE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES MOZAMBIQUE
The report examines the tension between Mozambique's progressive legal frameworks, such as the 1997 Land Law, and a state tendency toward recentralization and the prioritization of extractive industries. While laws recognize customary land rights (DUAT), implementation is often hindered by bureaucratic hurdles, flawed community consultation processes, and legislation that gives mining operations priority over other land uses. The document highlights the failure of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) initiatives like Tchuma Tchato due to lack of genuine power devolution and the negative social impacts of large-scale resettlement projects, such as those led by Vale in Tete Province.
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Document type: Report
Joint Statement: Mining Lekgotla Fails to Acknowledge and Address Key Challenges in South Africa’s Extractive Sector, say Rights Groups
The Centre for Environmental Rights, Centre for Applied Legal Studies, and the Open Democracy Advice Centre argue that the 2014 Mining Lekgotla and similar industry forums exclude critical stakeholders and lack transparency. They highlight the difficulty of accessing essential environmental and mining documents and call for more inclusive governance to ensure natural resources benefit all South Africans.
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Document type: Statement
Getting Down to Business: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism
The report examines corporate governance across six SADC countries, finding a significant gap between the adoption of formal legal frameworks and their practical implementation. While South Africa and Mauritius possess sophisticated systems, others struggle with rudimentary architectures, corruption, and poor infrastructure. The author argues for a principles-based approach to governance that facilitates rather than restricts business growth, particularly for small and medium enterprises.
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Document type: Research paper
From Research to Results: Greener Pathways for the SADC Region
The document identifies five priority policy intersections for the SADC region, noting that over half of the region's countries have economies where fewer than eight sectors account for 75 per cent of exports, primarily focusing on minerals or agriculture.
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Document type: Policy brief
Considering Growth and Equity in SADC Today
The document outlines the 'Green Guide' project, funded by the Climate Development Knowledge Network, which aims to conduct action-oriented research on the political complexities of transitioning economies toward greener and more inclusive growth, specifically focusing on the SADC region.
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Document type: Policy brief
Locating the Policy Space for Inclusive Green Growth within the SADC Extractive Sector
The document examines the tension between economic growth driven by extractive industries in the SADC region and the resulting social and environmental harms. It argues that because a shift away from extractive-dependent growth is unlikely to happen immediately, the effective management of this sector is the primary lever for achieving a transition toward inclusive green growth that benefits rural poor populations.
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Document type: Policy brief
SUBMISSION OF AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF ON THE MERITS OF THE DISPUTE
The document provides legal commentary on the dispute between Pac Rim Cayman LLC and the Republic of El Salvador, asserting that the state's regulatory framework for mining is a necessary tool to prevent human rights infringements and environmental damage. It emphasizes that the 'public interest' must be defined through environmental democracy and access rights, as outlined in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. The brief further details the social conflict and violence, including murders of environmental defenders, resulting from Pac Rim's activities in the Cabañas department.
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Document type: Legal commentary
PRESENTACION ESCRITO AMICUS CURIAE RELATIVO AL FONDO DE LA DIFERENCIA
The document is a legal submission to the ICSID tribunal in the case of Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador. It argues that the state's refusal to grant a mining concession is a legitimate exercise of its duty to protect human rights and the environment, particularly in a region with high population density and water scarcity. The brief emphasizes that environmental impact assessments and community consultations are essential legal requirements, not mere formalities, and that the 'public interest' must be defined through environmental democracy and the rights of access to information and participation. Furthermore, it documents a pattern of violence and attacks against environmental defenders in the Cabañas Department, which it links to the social conflict generated by Pac Rim's presence.
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Document type: Legal commentary
RE: The IFC and Lessons Learned
The document argues that the IFC's 'lessons learned' process is insufficient because it ignores institutional culture, fails to address the systemic miscategorisation of project risks, and lacks a formal implementation and monitoring framework. While acknowledging some positive steps, the authors highlight ongoing failures in projects across Honduras, Burma, Indonesia, and Nicaragua, and call for a time-bound plan to integrate human rights assessments and poverty reduction goals into IFC operations.
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Document type: Statement
Comunidades de San José del Golfo y San Pedro Ayampuc en Resistencia Pacífica “La Puya”
The statement reports that approximately 500 police officers used excessive force, including tear gas, to clear a protest camp at the "Progreso VII derivada" mine, resulting in over 25 injuries. It accuses the Guatemalan government and the Ministry of Environment of corruption and fraud in approving the mining project and calls for the cancellation of the mining license to protect water, health, and the environment.
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Document type: Statement
Defendemos el medioambiente, defendemos los derechos humanos
The report by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) details over 100 incidents of violence against environmental defenders across 27 countries. It identifies a systemic pattern of criminalization, physical attacks, and state repression linked to large-scale extractivist projects. The document advocates for legally binding international norms for transnational corporations and the recognition of environmental defense as a fundamental human right.
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Document type: Report
Les traités bilatéraux d’investissement, l’exploitation minière et les champions nationaux: en assurer le succès
The document examines the tension between the 'Africa Mining Vision'—which seeks to use national champions and performance requirements to drive sustainable development—and the legal constraints imposed by international investment treaties. It evaluates ownership options (such as joint ventures and state-owned enterprises) and performance requirements (such as local content and technology transfer), concluding that while these tools can be effective if integrated into broader strategies, they often conflict with treaty obligations regarding national treatment, fair and equitable treatment, and expropriation. The briefing provides strategic drafting options for states to preserve their 'policy space' in future treaties.
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Document type: Briefing
Future Oil Revenues and Political Dynamics in West and East Africa: A Slippery Slope?
The research examines the potential for a 'resource curse' in four African nations soon to become oil-dependent. Using a game-theoretic model and the concept of 'limited access orders,' the author argues that oil rents typically disrupt political incentives, undermining economic performance and potentially destabilizing the state. While Ghana is identified as a potential exception due to its robust democracy and lower projected oil-to-tax revenue ratio, the other cases show higher risks of repression or predatory behavior. The paper concludes that radical policy interventions like 'cash-to-citizen' transfers are implausible because they ignore the domestic political equilibria and patronage networks that maintain stability.
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Document type: Research paper
Extractive sector under pressure to demonstrate developmental obligation
The paper examines the shifting landscape of Africa's extractive sector, noting the rise of emerging economies like China and Brazil and the increasing pressure on companies to demonstrate social and developmental obligations. It suggests that European firms can gain a competitive edge by embracing local processing, reskilling workers affected by mechanization, and improving transparency. Furthermore, it discusses how a projected decline in EU material demand by 2030 could shift global supply chains and allow for more technical, less geo-economic cooperation between the EU and Africa.
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Document type: Research paper
13th session of UNPFII: African Caucus responds to the World Bank on the safeguard review process
The African Caucus warns the World Bank against ignoring its 'Stand-alone policy for Indigenous peoples' in Africa due to government objections to the term 'Indigenous', noting that the term is widely accepted by African regional bodies and national courts. The Caucus also criticizes the 'Billion Dollar Map' project—a $1 billion initiative to map Africa's mineral resources—for its lack of transparency and failure to include Indigenous representatives or mark traditional lands, which could lead to environmental degradation and social conflict.
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Document type: Statement