Promoting responsible resource supply chains

Context

The abundance of raw materials that the four countries of the Mano River Union (MRU) – Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – have offers major potential for driving their development. The countries have already implemented reforms in line with the African Union’s mining strategy. However, mining in the MRU is often fraught with social conflict, environmentally harmful extraction methods, human rights violations, inadequate civil society participation, and a lack of transparency in revenue management – with far-reaching social and ecological consequences for the mining areas.

Objective

In the MRU countries, state, civil society, and private sector actors are putting transparent and socially and environmentally responsible mineral resource supply chains in place.

Approach

This project provides support for the partner countries to change the political, institutional and legal framework conditions in order to responsibly manage the income from, for example, gold, diamonds or bauxite. It works together with Mano River Union government institutions, communities, civil society organisations, and the private sector.

The work of the project is divided into two areas:

• Improving state supervisory functions, specifically in meeting social and ecological standards. Greater controls are also to be put on exports to prevent smuggling. The key point of focus here is artisanally extracted gold and diamonds.
• Providing support through the project for civil society organisations representing the interests of mining communities to strengthen the transparency and responsibility of the government and the private sector. For example, developing complaints mechanisms and solutions which address sustainability in the area.

Last update: June 2023