The former Katanga region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is home to
one of the largest copper and cobalt deposits worldwide. What is often referred to as the
"copper belt", is a region crucial to multinational tech and extractive companies as it
provides minerals that are essential to the production of batteries of electric cars and
smartphones. To respond to the need of improved field implementation of the Voluntary Principles in this resource-rich province, the SHRIM enables a project implemented jointly by DCAF and its local partner Justicia Asbl. It supports a previously established multistakeholder working group which can identify and address security and human rights related risks in the province.

Security challenges in the extractive sector of the South Kivu Province in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are manifold, ranging from the presence of armed groups on mining sites to risks posed by under-capacitated elements of the security forces. To respond to the need of improved field implementation of the Voluntary Principles in this resource-rich province, the SHRIM enables a project implemented jointly by DCAF and its local partner Observatoire de la Gouvernance et Paix. It focuses, among other objectives, on setting up a multistakeholder working group which can identify and address security and human rights related risks in the province.

Public security forces assigned to extractives operations who are untrained and do not respect human rights present a major security and human rights challenge. Through this project, human rights training was provided and resources developed through field-based engagement involving VPs member companies and other stakeholders in Kenya.

The International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) promotes the responsible provision of security services to include respect for human rights, national and international law. A core function of the ICoCA is the monitoring of the activities of its member private security companies. Through this project, the Association has developed, tested and finalised its Field-Based Review procedures.

Local implementation of security and human rights good practice requires commitment from many stakeholders including governments, companies, civil society and affected communities. However, to date there has been limited knowledge sharing across stakeholders working within the framework of the Voluntary Principles to support such implementation. This joint project between DCAF and Fund for Peace seeks to collect, analyse and share good practices and lessons from ongoing in-country implementation efforts within the framework of the VPs. 

In Africa, the private security sector often operates under the radar of democratic oversight. Civil society has a key role to play in increasing transparency and accountability of this sector, thus enabling prevention based-approaches to potential human rights abuses. This project builds the capacity of civil society organisations in Africa to enhance oversight of the private security sector.

Security and human rights challenges around extractives operations can only be addressed if all relevant stakeholders work together. This project responds to a key need identified by Voluntary Principles stakeholders in Peru, namely to establish a regional security and human rights in-country working group. Through this group, the project seeks to foster multi-stakeholder responses to current security and human rights challenges in the Macro Sur mining region.