Special report on the “The ICGLR Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR) and other Certification Mechanisms in the Great Lakes Region: Lessons Learned and Best practices”

Abstract

Several African countries are endowed with considerable amounts of mineral resources. These resources play a crucial role in the economy, as they account for a significant share of exports. Indeed, mineral resource exports contribute to merchandise exports in almost half of Africa’s 54 countries. While the exploitation of mineral resources should have a positive effect on economic growth as it provides sufficient financial resources for building economic infrastructure and human capital, it has not been the case for most African countries. The link between natural exploitation and conflict is well documented. Natural resources driven conflicts have been fuelled by grievances on access to rights, perceptions of unfair distributions of benefits, disenfranchised groups or by pure economic reasons: the business of war. The Special report on the implementation of the ICGLR RINR will start by analyzing certification processes in general and their challenges; focus on the ICGLR RINR and highlight the progress made as well as achievements and success factors; flag any issues and 6 challenges that may have arisen that prevent its implementation; and make comparative analysis with other certification mechanisms and initiatives.