The Extractive Industries and Foreign Security Network

This network investigates the adverse human rights impacts emanating from multinational corporations (MNCs) engaged in natural resource extraction, and the security forces of the foreign States in which they operate. It will evaluate whether the UK's legal and policy frameworks establish appropriate accountability mechanisms, provide access to remedies for victims, and ensure effective implementation of international, regional and domestic human rights standards in this context.

MNCs domiciled in the Global North have the potential to bring substantial benefits to communities around the globe through foreign direct investment, job creation and infrastructure projects. Yet, those engaged in the extraction of natural resources often contribute to severe human rights impacts, including extreme environmental degradation, dispossession of land, and loss of homes and livelihoods.

Tensions between communities and local law enforcement arising from the presence of such companies often erupt into violence, leading to injury and death. Reports of arbitrary/inhumane detention, lack of procedural safeguards and access to fair trials often follow. The network establishes a forum for interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder collaboration in which the dynamics of these actors are analysed, the social, political, historical, and economic drivers of conflict are explored, and UK legal and policy responses are formulated.

The project focuses on the UK's regulatory architecture for several reasons. The parent companies of extractive industries have an extensive presence in the UK and make a significant contribution to its economy. Access to precious minerals found in host states is integral to the successful execution of the UK's decarbonisation policy which aims to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035 and promote adoption of electric vehicles.

UK Parliamentary committees have begun to recognise this as an important issue-area. Yet, the UK is presently out of step with its comparators in the Global North in terms of its willingness to uphold international human rights standards. While recent UK litigation shows promise in terms of holding parent companies to account for harms produced by their subsidiaries, the involvement of foreign police and military personnel adds extra layers of complexity to which English law is ill-equipped to respond.

The network's UK-focus will facilitate a rigorous and realistic programme of research from which tangible policy responses can be developed. Moreover, examining the UK's position within a global problematic will demand, rather than preclude, international collaboration. The network will prioritise participation from communities directly affected by the harms that form the project's focus (e.g.

Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Tanzania) by engaging with scholars, practitioners and National Human Rights Institutions in these regions. Additionally, the relevance of international and regional human rights standards will require comparative analysis of their implementation in jurisdictions the world over.

The network explores a range of cross-cutting issues in pursuit of its objectives. These include: i) the UK's role in regulating interactions between its companies and the security services of foreign States; ii) the suitability of the UK's existing legal and policy frameworks and the quality of its engagement with relevant international and regional standards; iii) the social, political economic and historical drivers of conflicts; iv) the management of the complex dynamics between host, home, and non-State actors.

These matters will be investigated at 3 interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder workshops hosted by the Universities of Bristol and Durham, with the support of our project partner, Rights and Accountability in Development. The project will lead to the production of a research report, journal article, and a series of policy briefs aimed at influencing the UK's legislative and policy agendas.