New York, September 13, 2024 – Demands for copper, nickel, cobalt and rare earth minerals will triple in future decades to match the rapid development of clean energy technologies, said a UN panel as it unveiled a “how-to guide” for proper management of global metals and minerals.

The UN Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals recommended seven guiding principles with human rights at the core of all mineral value chains to ensure that the increasing global need for minerals will not “trigger or exacerbate human rights violations and abuses, conflicts, violence, and harm to affected communities and individuals along the value chain.”

“Upholding human rights is therefore vital to ensuring a just, equitable and people-centred energy transition, with particular attention to protecting the rights of children, youth, women, workers and local communities, and recognition of the importance of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,” the panel said in its report.

The panel said that human rights of Indigenous Peoples and other rights holders with ancestral ties and rights to land must be respected and states should consult and cooperate in good faith with Indigenous Peoples to obtain their consent prior to any projects affecting their lands and resources.

Read the report of the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals 

The seven guiding principles: (1) Human rights must be at the core of all mineral value chains, (2) The integrity of the planet, its environment and biodiversity must be safeguarded, (3) Justice and equity must underpin mineral value chains, (4) Development must be fostered through benefit sharing, value addition and economic diversification, (5) Investments, finance and trade must be responsible and fair, (6) Transparency, accountability and anti-corruption measures are necessary to ensure good governance, and (7) Multilateral and international cooperation must underpin global action and promote peace and security.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who established the panel, said he did so in response to developing countries’ concerns that the energy transition could reproduce and amplify inequalities of the past.

“This report identifies ways to ground the renewables revolution in justice and equity, so that it spurs sustainable development, respects people, protects the environment, and powers prosperity in resource-rich developing countries,” he said at the launch of the report.

“We will bring the UN system together to support implementation of the panel’s work, safeguarding and advancing human rights, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples, across the critical minerals value chain. Through all this, civil society, young people and Indigenous Peoples must be heard and have a seat at the table.”

The panel, co-chaired by Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa and Ms. Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director-General for Energy of the European Commission, worked with governments, industry and civil society to develop the principles to build trust, guide the transition and accelerate the race to renewables, the UN said. The panel also received technical support from the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Team, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and comprised of over a dozen UN system entities. (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

Civil society statement on the publication of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals report

A call for collective action rooted in justice and equity – Declaring that “resourcing the energy transition requires a new paradigm rooted in equity and justice,” the Panel has laid out principles and recommendations to create urgently necessary change in mineral supply chains. We call for global collective action to put these ambitions into practice: 

 Anchoring human rights and Indigenous Peoples’ rights in mineral supply chains

The Panel’s first principle rightly states that “human rights must be at the core of all mineral value chains,” including those of environmental and anti-corruption defenders and the protection of civic space. As many seeking justice are intimidated, unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned, we urge swift action from governments and companies to support the protection of their rights. Additionally, we call on governments to strengthen domestic human rights legislation and regulations.

The Panel calls on all actors to uphold “the individual and collective rights of Indigenous Peoples,” recognizing their right to self-determination and their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. While we welcome this acknowledgement, and that of Indigenous Peoples’ role in biodiversity protection, upholding Indigenous rights requires that more governments ratify and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169.

We welcome the Panel’s call for a global traceability, transparency and accountability framework along the entire mineral value chain, to strengthen due diligence, facilitate corporate accountability and help support the protection of rights.

Protecting the planet’s integrity – We welcome the Panel’s call on all actors to “redouble […] efforts to safeguard the integrity of the environment” and the call to protect territories with recognized heritage and natural value from the mining of minerals for the energy transition. As we move towards a shift in humanity’s relationship with nature, we must find ways to drastically reduce material consumption and mineral demand, particularly in high-income countries. We must also resist narratives purporting that unlimited growth and unlimited mining are compatible with respecting planetary boundaries. 

We welcome the Panel’s recommendation to develop material efficiency and circularity targets to reduce consumption and environmental impacts. A transparent multi-stakeholder process that defines ambitious targets and establishes pathways to equitably reduce overconsumption will be essential to realize this aim.

Unlocking the equitable development potential of developing countries rich in minerals – We acknowledge the Panel’s recognition of the need for changes in trade rules to allow mineral-producing developing countries to move up the value chain. We also welcome its acknowledgment that economic diversification, energy infrastructure, and cleaner industrial policies are crucial to avoid dependence on commodity exports and to promote justice and equity in mineral-rich developing countries.

To make progress on both fronts, we welcome the High-Level Expert Advisory Group that will be tasked with accelerating greater benefit-sharing, value addition and economic diversification as well as equitable trade, investment, fiscal policy, finance, and taxation. We call on the UN as host to ensure this Group is diverse and inclusive. We compel the Group to probe unfair trade and investment treaties, foster regional cooperation and integration and discourage fragmented bilateral trade and investment agreements that entrench unequal power dynamics.

This new paradigm rooted in equity and justice can only be achieved through inclusive multi-stakeholder action, that heeds the voices of those most affected by activities all along the mineral supply chain. At a time of polarization and division, we recognize that the UN Secretary-General made a concerted effort to set up a multi-stakeholder panel representing different voices from across the mineral supply chain. We urge all actors to ensure equitable, inclusive and participatory approaches in our collective advancement of the Panel’s recommendations.

We thank the UN Secretary-General for his leadership and for his vision in which justice and equity are at the core of climate action and the entire value chain. Civil society has a critical role to advance and raise our collective ambitions to protect people and the planet. We look forward to collaborating with all actors as we put the Panel’s principles and recommendations into action.

Signatories: Climate Action Network International – Natural Resource Governance Institute – Publish What You Pay – Business and Human Rights Resource Centre – Oxfam – EEB/EU RMC – Earthworks – Cultural Survival – SIRGE Coalition

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