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Faculty of Law

Funmilola Ayotunde digs into exploitative critical mineral mining practices in new SSHRC grant

August 06, 2026

Funmilola Ayotunde
Faculty of Law assistant professor Funmilola Ayotunde received an Insight Development Grant of $77,650 over two years.

By David Murphy

SSHRC grant examines labour rights in green tech mining

UVic Law assistant professor Funmilola Ayotunde sees a troubling pattern repeating across Africa’s resource extraction industry.

More than 40 percent of the world’s transition minerals—cobalt, copper, nickel, manganese and more—are found in African nations. These minerals are needed for green technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries and more.

The problem is that Western state corporations are rushing into partnerships with resource-rich African nations as demand for clean energy products increases. Ayotunde worries that the influx of foreign investment into Africa’s mining sector risks reproducing historical patterns of child labour, labour exploitation, dispossession, environmental degradation and violence that often accompany resource extraction.

She says there’s no binding international law instrument holding mining corporations accountable for human rights violations. Further, there's a lack of interest or desire from the Global North to create binding business and human rights law. And some African governments are incapable or unwilling to enforce labour standards and human rights, often prioritizing profits from foreign investment over rights protection.

Ayotunde’s expertise in business, human rights and labour and employment law positions her well for the research project: Just Transition, Unjust Extraction: Trade Unions and the Implementation of EU's Due Diligence Regimes in Africa.

Supported by a new two-year, $77,650 SHRCC Insight Development Grant, the project seeks to strengthen the role of trade unions in Nigeria and South Africa. The study focuses on how unions can leverage power to enforce labour rights, hold corporations accountable and uplift international human rights standards within the growing transition minerals sector.

Q&A

What are the main issues this project addresses?

Transition minerals (also known as critical minerals) are increasingly being discovered in more parts of Africa. My project looks at the influx of foreign investment into these communities and how to protect communities to avoid the exploitation that has historically accompanied resource wealth in Africa. We will research resource extraction partnership agreements between resource-rich host states, Western countries and their corporations, and research regulatory frameworks to find ways for trade unions to push for compliance with human rights standards. It's time to bring trade unions back into the conversation because they can really move the needle on these issues.

What are the human and environmental costs of resource extraction in Africa?

Some are quite unthinkable. For Nigeria, oil spills are often not cleaned up, leaving communities without drinkable water. Some agricultural communities can't farm because of consistent gas flaring. When people push back, private security and state forces work together with the extractive companies to force their way into communities. That often results in cruel human rights violations, detention, torture, child labour and sexual violence. A recent case involving child labour in Congo and major tech companies revealed serious disregard for human rights and labour standards in the mining sector—children working in a cobalt mine without safety gear and under hazardous conditions suffered horrific injuries when the mine collapsed. Miners, including children, were buried alive.

Can international law help?

There's no binding international law on business and human rights that holds multi-national corporations accountable for their exploitation and abuses. International law historically developed during European imperialism and provided legal justification for colonial expansion and the plunder of colonies. There's been a long, loud silence among Global North states about regulating the extraterritorial activities of their corporations. For instance, in Canada, three bills (C-300, C-354 and C-323) aiming to hold Canadian extractive corporations accountable for extraterritorial human rights and environmental violations all failed.

Why focus on Nigeria and South Africa?

These two countries have begun critical mineral partnerships with the EU, United Kingdom, France, Japan, China and more. Nigeria and South Africa both have significant reserves of critical minerals and leading mining sectors. Also, trade unions in both countries have historically operated as workplace negotiators and as a force for social activism. But this research also informs the rest of Africa and the Global South generally. With transition minerals, there’s an urgent need to get products to market. The risk and fear is that governments are not prepared.

You’re targeting trade unions as potential agents for change. Why?

Trade unions played an important role in lifting labour standards during the military era in Nigeria. Unions knew the government was heavily reliant on revenue from oil and gas, so they would go on strike. In South Africa during apartheid, trade unions cared about the realities of their workers. But today, trade unions are not as active in broader social issues. I plan to interview them, research the historical role of trade unions and find out why they don’t have the same presence or popularity, especially in the extractive sectors. My plan is to create resources that trade unions can use to enforce their rights—helping them understand international and regional human rights standards, and produce workshops on building transnational alliances and promoting rights-conscious resource extraction.

Given the history of violence against trade union leaders, is it realistic for them to play a bigger role?

We are in a democratic era in both countries now. Unlike when we had the military government in Nigeria, it wasn’t uncommon for critics of the government to be detained. Then, trade union leaders sacrificed a lot to push their agenda. Today, there’s more social policing globally. There are also transnational alliances among civil organizations. My work supports trade unions to understand what resources they have across borders.

What do you hope will change because of this project?

Protection of human rights and pushing for rights-conscious extractive operations instead of looking for ways to remedy harm already done to communities. I hope this project re-centers trade unions in Africa’s extractive sectors as structures for workers to act collectively in protecting their rights and communities. We have domestic, regional and international laws that protect human rights. I hope this project contributes towards closing the gap between on-paper protections and the realities on the ground.