TRES/006/10/2011: Resolution on the Impact of Natural Resources Management on Human Rights

We, the participants to the NGO Forum in the 50^th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and 24^th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 19^th – 21^st October, 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia

Stressing the interdependence between human and economic development as well as the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home,

Recalling the 1981 African Charter of Human and People’s Rights in Africa as authoritatively interpreted by the 2011 Tunis Reporting Guidelines and the 2010 Nairobi Implementation Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,¹ in particular Articles 20, 21 and 24 of the Charter protecting the rights of peoples to pursue their social and economic development in terms of policies they have freely chosen; to freely dispose of their natural resources in the exclusive interest of the people and to a generally satisfactory environment;

Recalling Principle 2 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development establishing State sovereignty over natural resources, read with Principle 1 that provides that “human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature” and Principle 22 providing that “local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development and, as a result, their identity, culture and interests must be protected”;

Noting that among natural resources, an internationally agreed governance framework is beginning to emerge through the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Water and Sanitation for not only domestic water and sanitation but for upstream water management systems that need to operate in such a way as to respect these rights, and fight the fast depletion of water resources in Africa due to – priority given to diamond mining, excavation of shallow pools of water and foreign investors acquiring land for development;

Observing that current natural resources management are gravely hampered by ill-planned development, misappropriation of land, corruption, bad governance, misaligned budget priorities, lack of strong institutional reforms, weak policies coupled with continued denial of civil and political rights and prevailing insecurities, including military interventions in extractive areas;

Mindful of the disproportionate impact of human rights abuses upon the rural communities of Africa that continue to struggle to assert their customary rights to their land and resources;

Working towards a reaffirmation at the Rio+20 Summit in 2012 that natural resources management and international agreements must respect international human rights law and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system,

The NGO Forum calls the African Commission to strongly recommend the African Union member States to:

• Reaffirm that in accordance with the principle of state sovereignty over natural resources established in the Rio Declaration, the State has the main responsibility for natural resources stewardship and that the State must fulfill its mission in conformity with international human rights law;

• Take appropriate measures to ensure participation, including the free, prior and informed consent of communities, access to information, fair compensation and accountability in the management of natural resources in order to bring their legislation in line with the Charter provisions as interpreted by the Commission in the Endorois decision,² in terms of Article 1 of the Charter;

• Vigorously fight corruption at all levels of decision making, in particular at the state level, by strengthening and enforcing criminalization of corruption and decisively ending impunity;

• Place natural resources management under transparency, including through a certification process and protection of the freedoms of the press and expression;

• Boldly ensure that natural resources management does not undermine the full enjoyment of basic human rights and the principles of equality and non discrimination as stated in the African Charter and the Tunis and Nairobi Guidelines, in particular the right to health, the right to property, the right to work, the right to culture, the right to housing, the right to food and the right to water and sanitation and that communities are protected from forced evictions;

• Ensure the respect for human rights as to the exploitation of natural resources in international cooperation, international investments and trade regulation;

• Provide appropriate resources to, in particular, the Working Group on Extractive Industries to enable it to discharge its function as provided for in Resolution 148/09;

The ACHPR Working Group on extractive industries is called upon to:

• review existing standards, such as the 2009 ECOWAS Directive on mining, and monitoring processes, including identification of strengths, weaknesses, effectiveness and applicability in Africa;

• review mining legislations in African countries and African mining vision 2050;

• develop human rights impact assessments using country case studies and to look in particular at free prior informed consent; effective remedies; fair compensation; women and indigenous and customary people’s rights; environmental impact assessments, including impact on livelihoods, and ensuring public participation; protection of the individuals in the informal sector; and economic, cultural and social rights;

• build upon the reviews above, to strengthen regional efforts and develop guidelines for the continent, that respect human rights of all and require transparent, maximum and effective community participation in a) decision making about, b) prioritisation and scale of, and c) benefits from any development on their land or other resources or that affects them in any substantial way;

• mandate a Special Rapporteur to consult and collaborate with local civil society to facilitate legitimate, genuine and effective participation and actively raise awareness on the importance of proper management of natural resources

Done in Banjul – 21^st October, 2011