CRM SECURE: Mitigating Security Risks linked to Critical Raw Materials in Fragile Contexts

Context

The EU’s commitment to transition to a competitive climate-neutral economy is driving a rising demand for critical minerals and metals. Recognised as critical raw materials (CRMs), these natural resources are often extracted in fragile, conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable areas. In such contexts, local communities often lack the ability to influence decisions impacting their safety, whereas security actors deployed to extractive areas are often ill-prepared to engage in local dialogue and dispute resolution, ensure human rights protection, and tackle complex criminal activity in and around mining sites. Recognising that the green transition should not come at the expense of those living in mineral-rich areas, the EU supports multi-stakeholder approaches to address emerging security challenges and mitigate human rights risks linked to CRM extraction.

Overall objetive

This project aims to support communities and authorities to better address security challenges linked to the extractive sector to achieve resilience and sustain peace.

Specific objectives

• To enhance community resilience in the face of CRM-related security risks by developing community-based tools and localised platforms for dialogue.
• To improve security sector professionalism and responsiveness by building capacities of security actors on the rights of CRM-impacted communities; and on complex CRM-related criminal activities.

Concrete activities

• Provide training to civil society and community-based actors on stakeholder engagement, conflict sensitivity and mediation skills, and community-based environmental and human rights impact assessment.
• Support community-based actors to develop and disseminate information, conduct advocacy and monitoring, as well as to apply accountability tools and mechanisms.
• Support civil society-led training of communities on human rights, security and environmental frameworks.
• Support companies and communities on effective and accessible remediation and grievance mechanisms.
• Develop tailored training curricula for security actors on International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law, and national environmental legislation.
• Organise trainings for private and public security providers on human rights, international standards and use of force.
• Provide guidance and training on responsive community-oriented policing models tailored to CRM sites.
• Research into good practice on early warning and risk analysis, and criminal intelligence gathering in remote CRM sites and communities.
• Provide advisory support and capacity building to security actors on interagency coordination and investigation with regards to organised crime involvement in CRM extraction and CRM-related environmental and financial crimes.
• Support external oversight bodies on inquiries into CRM-related crime, environmental degradation, and human rights risks.

Expected results

• Community actors apply knowledge, tools and use available platforms to meaningfully engage in consultations and oversight mechanisms that mitigate the security risks linked to CRM extraction and trade.
• Security actors respect the rights of CRM impacted communities and more proactively and effectively prevent, respond to, and investigate, financial and environmental crimes linked to CRM extraction and trade.

Expected achievements

• Establishment of local multi-stakeholder working groups in selected CRM sites.
• Launch of community-based tools for environmental and human rights impact assessment, conflict prevention and monitoring mechanisms.
• Enhanced participation of community representatives in set-up, review and use of companies’ grievance mechanisms.
• Roll-out of tailored curriculum and training-of-trainers methodology for security actors on IHRL/IHL.
• Guidelines on community-oriented policing models tailored to specific CRM sites.
• Research into public-private security arrangements in CRM sites.
• Sharing of lessons learnt on the mitigation of security and human rights risks linked to CRM extraction and trade.