Extracting justice? Colombia’s commitment to mining and energy as a foundation for peace

In this article critical consideration is given to the idea that natural resource extraction can pay for peace and justice. The Colombia government claims that the mining and energy sector represents a driver for economic growth and a key source of the financing needed in a post-conflict period following the forthcoming signing of peace accords. Recent research suggests this argument is severely flawed. Legal and socio-economic dynamics indicate that the encouragement of the extractive sector does not represent a route to justice, but rather an increase in insecurities and a new phase of human rights violations in the country.