An abundance of natural resources in a country is conducive to its development. Nevertheless, the last few decades have shown a harsher reality, where natural resources have triggered, financed or... Show moreAn abundance of natural resources in a country is conducive to its development. Nevertheless, the last few decades have shown a harsher reality, where natural resources have triggered, financed or fuelled a number of internal armed conflicts. Examples include the armed conflicts in Cambodia, Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have been financed with the exploitation of a variety of valuable natural resources, including diamonds, gold, timber, oil and cocoa. Two main challenges can be identified. The first concerns stopping natural resources from financing or fuelling armed conflicts, while the second challenge is to improve the governance over natural resources within States in order to resolve existing armed conflicts and to prevent a relapse into armed conflict. The aim of this book is to assess the role of international law in addressing these two challenges. For this purpose, this book discusses the legal frameworks for the governance of natural resources in States in general, in situations of armed conflict and as part of conflict resolution and immediate post-conflict peacebuilding efforts. Show less