Mitigating the extractive industries resource curse in East Africa: Adopting the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Posted: 4 May, 2015 Filed under: Samuel Matsiko | Tags: business and human rights, Eats Africa, extractive industries, gas, IHRB, Institute for Human Rights and Business, John Ruggie, Kenya, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, National Action Plan, natural gas, oil, Tanzania, Uganda, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights 4 Comments
Author: Matsiko Samuel
Human rights lawyer; Africa Excellence DAAD Scholar, South African-German Centre for Transitional Justice
On 19 – 21 January 2015, the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights and Business office in Kenya on behalf of the Africa Commission Working Group on Extractive Industries organized a three day consultative meeting for civil society and national human rights institutions . The consultations focused on challenges and best practices in the extractive industries in the East Africa Sub region.
The extractive industries sector in East Africa is growing exponentially with the discovery of oil and gas in Uganda and Kenya. In 2006, Uganda discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Grabben in western Uganda with an estimate of 2.5 billion barrels of oil. In neighboring Kenya the government has issued more than 47 exploration licenses and has four prospective basins in Anza, Lamu, Mandera and the tertiary rift. Tanzania unlike its neighbor’s has no commercial discoveries of oil but it has built a niche in the natural gas sector with 2 producing gas fields in Songo Songo and Manzi Bay.
Call for a corruption-free Africa: A rights based approach
Posted: 13 April, 2015 Filed under: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn | Tags: abuse, accountability, Africa, corruption, discrimination, failed government, human rights, impunity, public service systen, right to clean water, right to education, right to health care 2 Comments
Author: Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn
Human rights lawyer, Ethiopia
Corruption is a threat to human rights in that it erodes accountability and results in impunity. Given the interdependence of human rights, the impact of corruption on the whole spectrum of human rights; economic social and cultural rights as well as that of the civil and political rights is significant. It fundamentally distorts the machineries necessary for the realization of human rights namely good governance and rule of law.
Corruption undermines a government’s ability to deliver goods and services. It results in discriminations in the use and enjoyment of human rights. It further undermines the ability of individuals to access justice and corrode their role as active participants in decisions that affect them within the public service. Corruption has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups such as women, children and the poor as it decreases funds available for the provision of basic services like education, health and social services that these groups are mostly dependent on.
Eritrea: Not the country we struggled for
Posted: 1 April, 2015 Filed under: Hibo Mahad, Khuraisha Patel, Yulia Prystash | Tags: CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Eritrea, International Women's Day, right to education, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, UNHRC, United Nations Human Rights Council, violence against women in detention 2 Comments
Author: Khuraisha Patel
Student (LLM Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa), Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Author: Yulia Prystash
Student (LLM Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa), Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
Author: Hibo Mahad
Student (LLM Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa), Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
International Women’s Day – 8 March 2015
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s Working Group on the Issue of Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice has applauded the extensive legal guarantee of women’s rights and equality across the globe. In its statement on International Women’s Day, the UNHRC indicated however, that this legal guarantee of equality has not translated into reality due to persistent discrimination against women and retrogression from these norms. Eritrea is an example of a country that has not fully translated the legal guarantees on women’s rights to equality into reality. Lack of implementation of laws, religion, tradition, regressive and patriarchal culture as well as the rhetoric of nationalism (“no war – no peace”) continue to hinder the realisation of gender equality in Eritrea.
It is time to take maternal mortality in Kenya seriously
Posted: 19 March, 2015 Filed under: Clara Burbano-Herrera | Tags: accountability, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Union, Beijing Declaration, Brazil, Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, Campaign beyond Zero, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, Kenya, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, KNCHR, maternal mortality, preventable death, women's human rights, women's rights 4 Comments
Author: Clara Burbano-Herrera
Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University (USA)
Maternal mortality rates reflect disparities between wealthy and poor women, and between developed and developing countries. [i] Frequently, whether women survive pregnancy and childbirth is related to their social, economic and cultural status. The poorer and more marginalized a woman is, the greater her risk of death. [ii] Ninety–nine per cent (99%) of maternal deaths occur in developing countries, and most of these deaths are preventable. [iii]
While worldwide maternal mortality has declined – in 2013, the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was 210 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, down from 380 maternal deaths in 1990 (a 45 per cent reduction) [iv] – unfortunately in Kenya maternal mortality has decreased very little, i.e., from 490 to 400[v] in the period between 1990 and 2013, compared to the Millennium Development Goal No. 5 (MDG) target [vi] of 147 per 100,000 births. [vii]
In pursuit of Social Justice
Posted: 4 March, 2015 Filed under: Thato Motaung | Tags: banned, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, faiths, freedom of religion, intimidation, Jehovah’s Witnesses, penalties of arrets, Roman Catholicism, social exclusion, social justcie, Sunni Islam, World Day of Social Justice Leave a comment
Author: Thato Motaung
Researcher, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria
World Day of Social Justice – 20 February 2015
Social justice becomes a reality when social protection measures against discrimination and marginalization are enforced, thus targeting systemic social injustice and differential treatment. This is what the United Nations General Assembly aimed at emphasizing when it proclaimed The World Day of Social Justice on 20 February 2007.[1] The advancement of social justice requires the removal of such barriers which discriminate against people based on – but not exclusive to – their age, gender, religion, culture, ethnicity or disability.
In Eritrea, religion can be a basis for differential treatment and persecution. A 1995 Presidential Decree declared that the country would recognize only four religions: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism, and Sunni Islam. The 1997 Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but because it was never implemented, the Decree trumps this right. All other faiths were banned and those who practice them would incur penalties of arrest, detention in inhumane conditions, intimidation and even social exclusion.
Makda[2], a young Eritrean girl, recounts how her father was expelled from his government job and left with no income to support his wife and seven children for being a Jehovah’s Witness.
“Our family were called “traitors” and our neighbours harassed us when we went outside. One day my parents and I were arrested during a religious gathering – I was only 14 years old. After three days, locked up in a cold prison cell with my mother, the officer released me with a warning: “Do not follow your parents’ religion or you will be expelled from school”.
What we need to succeed in the fight against human trafficking
Posted: 25 February, 2015 Filed under: Monique Emser | Tags: counter-trafficking, criminal networks, criminal syndicates, Human Traf, human trafficking, intelligence, law enforcement, LexisNexis, migrant smuggling, migrants, proactive, reactive, trafficking networks, victim-led investigations Leave a comment
Author: Monique Emser
Research Associate, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
World Day of Social Justice – Ending human trafficking and forced labour: 20 February 2015
While there is evidence to suggest that some trafficking networks in South Africa are transnational, exhibiting professional and entrepreneurial business structures and methods of operation, reported cases of human trafficking in South Africa to date tend not to be affiliated with large, sophisticated criminal networks. Rather, they involve opportunistic individuals or families who are loosely coupled in temporary arrangements with criminal syndicates and co-conspirators in points of origin and transit.
Small-time traffickers and their co-conspirators often ‘piggy-back’ on existing criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling or drug trafficking, using established transportation routes to hide their activities. Highly organised trafficking networks, on the other hand, have evolved to such an extent that some even exhibit professional structures and employ legal companies as a front for their illegal activities.[1] It is this flexibility and mobility of organisation which makes trafficking networks so difficult to detect and dismantle.
Taking the right to adequate food seriously: Reflections on the International Agreement on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems
Posted: 23 February, 2015 Filed under: Bereket Kefyalew | Tags: Africa, agriculture, CFS, Committee on World Food Security, development banks, food security, gender equality, global economic crisis, human rights, indigenous peoples' rights, PRIAF, Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food systems, right to adequate food, right to food, sustainable development, UN agencies, United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Leave a comment
Author: Bereket Kefyalew
Freelance consultant and researcher in human rights and development
After two years of negotiations the Principles of Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (PRIAF) were approved by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on October 15, 2014. This has been endorsed by some as a breakthrough for realising the right to adequate food and ensuring food security for all.
Since the 2007/2008 global economic crisis, agricultural investments, particularly large scale investments have flourished across the globe. Africa has become a major destination for large scale agriculture investors largely due to the cheap and fertile land, and poor protection of land rights. The investments are apparatuses of the market led agricultural trade liberalization model claimed to be the panacea for food insecurity in the world by hegemonic industrialized states.
It is evident that some of these investments have utterly affected the right to adequate food in Africa and elsewhere as the investments, for instance, displaced people from their land, or registered futile contribution to food security and nutrition. For this reason some practitioners proposed human rights based regulation of global and national food and nutrition related policies. Nevertheless the investors and host nations defended the investments and denied the adverse effects.
The PRIAF was born out of these competing views on agricultural investments. It brought together major stakeholders to come into consensus on common principles on how to conduct agriculture investments. It is an effort to regulate agriculture investments globally; and to strike a balance between investment promotion and protection of human rights and ensuring sustainable development.
Factors inhibiting the identification and investigation of human trafficking cases
Posted: 20 February, 2015 Filed under: Monique Emser | Tags: child trafficking, human trafficking, Human Trafficking Awareness Index report, law enforcement, LexisNexis, rule of law, South Africa, victim identification Leave a commentAuthor: Monique Emser
Research Associate, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
World Day of Social Justice – Ending human trafficking and forced labour: 20 February 2015
Law enforcement efforts have failed to keep pace with the mutable phenomenon of human trafficking despite the fact that it is regarded as the fastest growing and second most profitable criminal enterprise after drug trafficking.
The biggest challenge facing law enforcement in human trafficking cases is finding victims and their traffickers in the first place, since human trafficking involves the movement and concealment of victims.
Victims of human trafficking often do not self-identify as such. There are numerous reasons for this. Some victims may have consciously engaged in illicit activities, such as undocumented migration into the Republic or engaging in sex work. In such cases, ‘victims are unlikely to report their victimisation to the police or seek help from service providers.’[1] Where trafficking occurs within diaspora communities, self-identification and reporting to the police are even lower.
Others are too traumatised by their experiences and remain in denial. Distrust of law enforcement, fear of retaliation by traffickers, a lack of understanding of basic rights, are further inhibiting factors in relation to victim cooperation and investigation.
Human trafficking investigations and victim identification
Posted: 20 February, 2015 Filed under: Monique Emser | Tags: brothels, counter-trafficking, Doctor’s Case, forced labour, human trafficking, Human Trafficking Awareness Index report, labour trafficking, law enforcement, LexisNexis, traffickers, trafficking, victim assistance, World Day of Social Justice 1 CommentAuthor: Monique Emser
Research Associate, Department of Criminal and Medical Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
World Day of Social Justice – Ending human trafficking and forced labour: 20 February 2015
The identification and investigation of human trafficking cases is perhaps one of the most challenging and complex activities facing law enforcement and prosecution in South Africa, and the African region.
Despite new laws, widespread awareness-raising, the formation of specialised multi-agency task teams, and training of key public officials, little inroads have been made in combating and preventing trafficking. Indeed, the number of reported cases and victims assisted remain low, while the prevalence of trafficking appears to be increasing. Human trafficking remains a hidden crime which obviates simple solutions.
Comprehensive and socially inclusive counter-trafficking legislation which is victim-centred is a vital component for effective counter-trafficking governance. While South African anti-trafficking legislation was signed into law in 2013, it is yet to commence. Human trafficking remains partially criminalised. Prosecution of the crime, and victim assistance, is reliant on a transitional and inchoate legal and policy framework. The slow pace to bring the new law into force has several implications for law enforcement, prosecutors and service providers who are beginning to confront the problem at both national and local levels.
How biometric identification can help the judicial management system
Posted: 11 February, 2015 Filed under: Mohammad Shahnewaz | Tags: biometric identification, biometric technology, crimes against humanity, dna, DNA biometric testing, evidence, forensics, identity, identity theft, judicial system, stock witness 1 Comment
Author: Mohammad Shahnewaz
Senior Digital Marketing Specialist, M2SYS Technology
In many developing countries in Asia and Africa, the judicial system is yet to catch up with the perpetrators of crimes. The time has come for the respective authorities to change this notion and prepare themselves to adopt cutting-edge technologies like biometrics to accelerate the pace of the judiciary process. They have to remember the saying ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.
In developing countries people have a stereotypical view about judicial systems being slow, rigid, and secretive. This impression exists largely because of the slow judicial process and corruption within the system due to unavailability of modern age technologies to establish accountability of judicial personnel. On the other hand, since there is no effective system for keeping track of day-to-day judicial activities or cross-checking with previous case histories, problems like suspect identity theft and the use of stock witness are frequently taking place. Biometric identification technology can help to establish more accurate and secure identification and thus help the judicial system become more efficient, fast, responsible, and user-friendly.
In a judicial system the accurate identification of subjects is of major importance for effective administration. The public’s faith and trust of the judicial system relies largely on the ability to administer the right justice to the right person in a timely manner. Biometric identification systems can help the judicial system to accurately identify a crime suspect without a shadow of a doubt to determine guilt or innocence in a timely manner by a quick scan of a physiological attribute.
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