TREC/002/10/2013 – Extractive Industries, The Environment and Human Rights Violations
We, the participants of the NGO Forum preceding the 54th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and the 28th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 18th – 20th October, 2013 in Banjul, The Gambia, hereby call on the African Commission to:
- Recall that African states hold the primary responsibility for the regulation and control of international companies operating in their countries;
- Recognize that in a global perspective, the home countries of international companies must also accept responsibility for regulating business to ensure the protection of human rights internationally;
- Emphasize that all governments must safeguard the rights of citizens and civil society to independently research and monitor extractive industries, in particular ensuring the protection of human rights defenders from threats, violence, and reprisals;
- Encourage all efforts to advance respect for the UN Guidelines on Business and Human Rights within the African context;
- Emphasize the essential role and function for citizens and civil society to monitor extractive industries, hold their governments accountable, and report on these issues to the African Commission;
- Highlight that communities must have full and open access to information on extractive industries and their impacts on human rights, communities and environments;
- Encourage the continuing review and mapping of regional and international law on the extractive industries, including the examination of best practices in the ECOWAS model treaty on extractive industries as well as other sub-regions;
- Encourage the development African guidelines or a model law on extractive industries and human rights;
- Call for the development of national laws on extractive industries and the effective implementation of these regulations;
- Recall that extractive industries as a sector are key to realizing the right to development, based on fair and equitable terms for mineral concessions;
- Recall the African Commission’s resolution on illicit capital flight;
- Remind all governments to submit their country reports with the inclusion of a specific section addressing business and human rights;
- Encourage the African Commission to develop a strong working relationship and communication with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Right; particularly by the participation of the African Commission in the annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights; and
- Encourage the African Commission to consider new mechanisms for examining the human rights practices of commercial companies.
Done in Banjul, The Gambia on 20th October, 2013
