The Extractive Industry and Foreign Security Network

This AHRC-funded research network will investigate the interactions between multinational corporations engaged in the extraction of natural resources, and the security forces of the foreign States in which they operate. It will explore the causes and effects of the often violent encounters between these actors and local communities in resource-rich territories. The network aims to examine the extent to which legal/policy frameworks recognise and respond to the interfaces between these actors with a view to proposing plausible reforms aimed at remedying past harms and strengthening the observance of fundamental human rights.

Multiple national, regional and international frameworks have been developed to regulate this issue-area. However, the presence of extractive industries continues to generate conflict between local communities and police/military personnel, often giving rise to grave and widespread human rights abuses. The network will examine these multifarious frameworks in order to identify lacunas, barriers to implementation and vacuums of accountability.

The network will address 3 key questions: i) What are the key social, economic, historical and political drivers of the conflicts between these actors? ii) What national, regional, and international legal and policy frameworks currently exist, and what barriers exist to their implementation? iii) How can these frameworks be improved so as to better regulate UK-based multinational companies and prevent, mitigate, and remedy human rights abuses arising from the interaction between extractive industries and foreign State security forces?

Further information: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW00772X%2F1