Critical Minerals, Critical Business & Critical Rights Symposium

On October 30, 2025, the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, in partnership with the Program on Environmental and Energy Law (PEEL) and the International Legal Studies Program (ILSP) at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), co-hosted the symposium “Critical Minerals, Critical Business & Critical Rights.”

The full-day event brought together leaders from law, policy, industry, and civil society to explore the complex intersection of human rights, environmental protection, and international business law across the life cycle of critical minerals essential to the global energy transition.

Following opening remarks from Professor Eduardo Bertoni, Director of the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, and welcome statements from Heather Hughes (Interim Dean, AUWCL), Professor William Snape (Director, PEEL), and Professor Padideh Ala’i (Director, International and Comparative Legal Studies / Faculty Director, ILSP), the symposium began with a keynote address on the “Growing Role of Minerals and Metals in the Energy Future.”

Over the course of four dynamic panels, speakers and moderators examined key challenges and opportunities from multiple perspectives:

Panel 1: Challenges and Opportunities in the Triple Planetary Crisis – Land, People, and Sea Featured UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights Marcos Orellana, Aaron Mintzes (Earthworks), and Professor Elizabeth Lewis (AUWCL). The discussion focused on the environmental and social consequences of mineral extraction and its impact on vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

Panel 2: Responsible Business Conduct and a Rights-Based Approach in Technology, Trade, and Finance Brought together Claudia S. de Windt (IIJS), Sahar Hafeez (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP), and Professor Elizabeth Steyn (University of Calgary) to explore how trade, finance, and governance frameworks can promote responsible sourcing and corporate accountability.

Panel 3: Rule of Law, Geopolitics, and Tensions Featured insights from Charles di Leva (Sustainability Frameworks LLP), Daniele La Porta (Gerald Group), Winfield Wilson (U.S. Department of Commerce), and Kenneth Markowitz (Akin Gump), addressing the role of governance, transparency, and global supply chains in the shifting geopolitical landscape of mineral extraction.

Panel 4: Ensuring a Sustainable and Just Transition to the Renewable Energy Age Moderated by Jesica Lindgren (Blue Star Strategies), the session included Andrea Carmen (International Indian Treaty Council), Maria Amparo Albán (SolGold PLC), Mathias Hultgren (Embassy of Sweden), and Douglas Faulkner (Leatherstocking LLC), who examined equitable approaches to the renewable energy transition that uphold environmental justice and Indigenous rights.

The symposium concluded with remarks from Rafael Peralta, Director of the Regional Office for North America, UN Environment Programme, who reflected on the urgent need for international cooperation and accountability in managing the social and environmental consequences of the energy transition.

Throughout the day, participants emphasized that addressing the global demand for critical minerals requires not only technological and economic innovation, but also a renewed commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and sustainable development.