Checked Against Delivery
Thank you, Chair,
Also, a special thank you and welcome to Her Excellency, Foreign Minister Wagner for being here with us today and to our briefers for their enlightening remarks.
As we have heard today, as demand for critical minerals rises in the context of the energy transition, it is essential that natural resources become drivers of peace and development rather than sources of violence, instability and exclusion.
I would like to make three points.
First, competition over natural resources has direct and devastating consequences for civilians.
In many conflict-affected settings, the illicit exploitation and trafficking of minerals, gold, timber or other resources finance armed groups, fuel corruption, and prolong cycles of violence by removing incentives for conflict parties to pursue political solutions.
We see this, as we have heard today, in the Great Lakes Region, the Sudan, in West Africa, but also in Latin America and beyond.
Control over mines, transport routes and trading hubs often translates into control over populations.
Where revenues from natural resource exploitation fuel protracted cycles of armed conflict, civilians are displaced, livelihoods are destroyed, and access to land and basic services is undermined.
And I want to particularly highlight here that women and girls are particularly exposed to rape, sexual exploitation and abuse at mining sites and along trafficking routes.
Illicit trafficking, armed group financing and sexual violence are therefore part of the same political economy of conflict, making civilian protection central to any effective response.
Second,
There is a clear need, as we have also heard several times this morning, for better implementation and coordination of the increasingly complex set of existing frameworks.
The international community already has important tools at its disposal, such as the Kimberley Process, the Great Lakes Regional Certification Mechanism, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and OECD due diligence guidance.
The Security Council also has many tools at its disposal. From sanctions regimes, panels of experts, and reporting mandates to peace operations, the Council can strengthen monitoring of trafficking networks, and expose links between illicit resource flows and armed groups.
The challenge is, of course, that these instruments remain fragmented, unevenly implemented and often burdensome for producing countries.
The priority should be to make more systematic use of these existing tools, while improving coordination with regional organisations and relevant due diligence and traceability mechanisms.
Technical assistance, capacity-building and support for local producers are also necessary to facilitate responsible market access.
Denmark is a firm supporter of the call of the Secretary-General for strengthened international cooperation to address this issue, and has offered our support to the establishment of the Task Force on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.
Third, and finally,
Countries rich in natural resources must be the first to benefit from them.
Natural wealth cannot continue to generate insecurity locally, while most value is captured elsewhere.
A more coherent approach must promote fair revenue-sharing, transparency, good governance, local value addition, job creation and tangible benefits for affected communities.
If natural resources are to support lasting peace, they must contribute not only to global supply chains, but also to the prosperity, sovereignty and development of producing states and local populations themselves.
Thank you.
