On 12 March 2026, IPIS, in cooperation with the Belgian Embassy to Tanzania and ENABEL, organized a roundtable discussion at the EU Delegation in Dar es Salaam. The event, titled “Advancing Responsible Mining and Community Rights in Tanzania” brought together approximately 20 participants, including representatives from diplomatic missions, development agencies, and civil society organizations.
The roundtable aimed to explore how Tanzania’s growing (critical) minerals sector can contribute to inclusive development and community rights. The discussion featured presentations by IPIS, HakiRasilimali, and Business & Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT), drawing on five years of experience from a Belgian-funded program focused on empowering communities and strengthening civil society in Tanzania’s natural resource sector.
Key takeaways from the roundtable
- Global partnerships for Tanzania’s critical minerals sector thrive when they balance domestic value addition with a predictable business climate and high ESG standards, thereby minimizing harm and ensuring equitable benefits for host communities.
- Operational grievance mechanisms foster remediation, trust, and accountability when they are context-sensitive, ensure transparency, predictability, clarity, and explicitly address the power imbalances communities may face in raising concerns.
- Community engagement strengthens relationships and expectation management when it is diversified beyond local government authorities, inclusive of vulnerable groups, and focuses on approachability, dignity, active listening, and genuine follow-up.
- Responsible security arrangements require a balance between protection and respect for rights, accountability, and access to justice. This includes clarifying roles, responsibilities, and oversight across all layers involved – mining companies, private security contractors, and public security forces – to ensure adherence to rights-based standards and transparent processes for addressing concerns.
Empowering communities and civil society in Tanzania’s natural resource sector (2022-2026)
Since 2022, IPIS, in partnership with HakiRasilimali, Business & Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT), and Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), has been implementing a five-year program funded by the Belgian development cooperation. The program aims to empower communities and strengthen civil society to promote justice and community rights in Tanzania’s natural resource sector.
The initiative focuses on three key areas:
- Monitoring: Community-based monitoring of the socio-economic impacts of resource extraction.
- Remedy: Improving access to justice and remedy for communities affected by mining activities.
- Advocacy: Facilitating evidence-based dialogue between communities, government, and corporate stakeholders to address challenges and maximize positive impact.
By combining research, empowerment, and advocacy, the program seeks to create a more transparent, accountable, and equitable natural resource sector in Tanzania.
This activity was supported by the Belgian development cooperation. Views expressed can not be considered is reflecting the position of the institution.
