During EU Raw Materials Week (9-13 December), new research by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reveals pathways for meaningful engagement with mining affected communities in the current transition mineral mining boom, as an essential input to achieving a just energy transition. At a minimum, this includes respect for the public participation rights of frontline communities – through robust access to information, power sharing, and the ability of rightsholders to influence company and state practice.

Case studies included in the research reveal this is often undermined:

• In Portugal, prosecutors sought annulment of Savannah Resources’ environmental permit for the proposed Covas de Barroso lithium mine. This case follows widespread resistance to the mine from the surrounding community in the face of a failure to respect public participation rights as state agencies consistently failed to provide project relevant information.
• In Brazil, Quilombola communities and other Indigenous Peoples brought a public action calling for revocation of the licence for the Paragominas bauxite mine pipeline due to irregularities in consultation around the licensing process.
• In Odisha, India, the public consultation for environmental clearance for the Sijimali Bauxite block, owned by Vedanta Limited, took place in a context of strong rightsholder opposition and state-backed repression.

Public participation rights include the right to shape public life and participate in democratic processes. This requires due process and the sharing of power and ability to influence outcomes. An essential pre-requisite is the effective protection of other related rights: in particular, the rights to equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Out of these examples of poor practice, the report offers key recommendations for mining corporations and states to build and retain public trust towards a just energy transition:

• Mining corporations can enhance project sustainability through engaging in meaningful dialogue with affected communities at every stage of their operations, and respecting Indigenous Peoples’ right to give their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
• States must lead on initial dialogue around decision to mine, protect public participation rights and demand companies have robust engagement processes in place when granting mining permits and licences to corporations.

Caroline Avan, Head of Natural Resources and Just Transition at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre said:

“In light of the increasingly accelerated pace of transition mineral mining, respect for the public participation rights of frontline communities has never been more critical if we are to build public trust in the just energy transition. By disregarding the expertise and concerns of local citizens, and Indigenous’ Peoples’ right to give consent or not, mining projects risk prolonged social conflicts, project delays, and rising costs – which the energy transition can ill afford. 

But pathways towards meaningful engagement exist. Where mining-affected rights holders receive complete information about what’s coming to their lands and why, they are able to voice their concerns and contribute their knowledge and expertise without fearing reprisals.

We need more states holding the bar high on public participation rights. They must require meaningful engagement and refuse to bend to pressure to cut corners in the name of accelerating extraction. 

Widespread opposition needs to be carefully considered in decisions to award licences. 

This will benefit all stakeholders – from mining companies to states to frontline communities –  by ensuring the good faith negotiation and collaboration that is essential to a ensure a transition that is fast because it is fair.”

Notes to editors

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) is an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of companies across the globe.
• New briefing “Stop and listen: Pathways to ‘meaningful engagement’ with rights-holders in the global rush to mine for transition minerals”. This briefing includes a review of existing literature and standards, plus three case studies informed by interviews with key informants.
• Quilombola communities in Brazil are descendants of enslaved African people who established their own societies in resistance to slavery and maintain a unique cultural identity shaped by their historical struggles, deep relationship with the environment and strong connections to ancestral territories. Approximately 6,000 quilombola communities exist across Brazil.
• The extractive sector has long been the most dangerous for human rights defenders (HRDs)
• BHRRC’s Transition Minerals Tracker documents human rights implications of mining for key minerals for the transition to a net-zero carbon economy. Between 2010 and 2023, at least 630 allegations of abuse have been associated with the mining of key transition minerals. In 2023, 91 allegations of abuse were recorded.
• Indigenous Peoples disproportionately bear the brunt of the harmful impacts of transition minerals mining: 61 allegations (10%) impacted their rights, including 36 alleged violations of their right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). People defending human and environmental rights continue to be attacked, with almost one in four attacks recorded against them (143 attacks).
• Media contact: communications@business-humanrights.org