Critical Minerals in the Great Lakes: How the Geopolitics of "Conflict Minerals" Undermines a Just Transition

Chris Huggins, University of Ottawa (Canada)

This chapter focuses on the geopolitics of competition for critical minerals in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, including those often termed "conflict minerals." The chapter provides an overview of mineral governance instruments and approaches, discusses the production of critical minerals in Rwanda and the DRC, and then focuses on the positions of the European Union and the United States towards acquisition of critical minerals in the Great Lakes Region. Recent legal agreements, such as Memoranda of Understanding between the EU and Rwanda, and the Washington Peace Agreement, undermine broader minerals governance approaches that might have utility in facilitating a Just Transition. Nevertheless, none of the mineral governance instruments should be understood as neutral technical tools, but instead represent fragmented and partial efforts that are deployed selectively by powerful actors at different scales.