Natural resource sector reform and human security in post-conflict societies: Insights from diamond mining in Sierra Leone

Abstract

State- and peacebuilding strategies increasingly feature reforms of natural resource governance that strive to ensure that the management of natural resources is legal, transparent and beneficial for lasting peace and development. In the past, legal and institutional reforms were mostly oriented towards the state level and rarely took into account the impacts of natural resource governance on the wellbeing of individuals and communities affected by natural resource extraction. More recently, the importance of positive outcomes for local communities in extractive areas is gaining traction among governance actors. This article proposes a human security lens to analyze the effects of reform initiatives. A human security approach enables researchers and policymakers to be sensitive to the intended and unintended consequences of governance measures and their impact on vulnerable populations. Based on in-depth field research, this article examines the human security implications of five types of reform measures in post-conflict Sierra Leone’s diamond sector, both in large-scale and artisanal diamond mining. The authors conclude that the reform measures have, so far, not substantially improved the human security of artisanal mineworkers or local communities.