Freiburger Afrikagespräch: Conflict, Rule of Law and Critical Minerals in Africa

Abstract

African exports of natural resources constitute roughly 74% of total merchandise exports and the continent is home to about 30% of all global mineral reserves. However, the region has failed to harness these opportunities to foster sustainable development. Even worse, more than half of all 37 countries categorized as fragile and conflict-affected states are to be found in Africa. In fact, fragile and conflict-affected states are significantly shaped by the failure in embedding the rule of law in the governance of resource extraction. This Freiburg Africa Talk seeks to explore the interactions that underpin conflict, rule of law and governance of mineral resources in Africa, as well as to proffer options for the future.

Dr. Collins Chikodili Ajibo holds a PhD and LLM from the University of Manchester (UK). He is an Associate Professor at the University of Nigeria (Nsukka). He is twice a recipient of the Georg Forster Research Fellowship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. Currently, Dr. Ajibo holds the Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowships for Researchers from Africa at FRIAS, University of Freiburg. His research interests cover international economic law, with particular inclination for international economic law in Africa.

Moderator: Andreas Mehler