African groups seek international tribunal for corporate abuses in Niger Delta

African civil society organisations (CSOs) have cited the decades-long environmental devastation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta as part of the evidence underpinning their call for an international tribunal to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights and environmental violations across Africa.

The demand was made Wednesday at a Pan-African Virtual Convergence convened by the Groundtruth Africa Network, where civil society representatives from Nigeria and other African countries argued that affected communities are often left without effective remedies because the corporations behind major projects operate through complex structures spanning multiple jurisdictions.

The participants specifically cited oil spills, gas flaring, contamination of land and water, destruction of farming and fishing livelihoods and threats to human health in the Niger Delta as examples of accountability challenges facing communities affected by corporate activities.

They said similar challenges were evident in major projects and extractive industries across Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Chad, Cameroon and Tunisia.

The participants said communities affected by corporate activities are often unable to obtain effective justice because companies operate through parent companies, subsidiaries, contractors, subcontractors, financiers and other business relationships spread across several countries.

The group called for an internationally legally binding instrument that would impose enforceable human rights and environmental obligations on transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

They also demanded the establishment of an International Tribunal on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations to hear cases involving companies engaged in business activities of a transnational character.

Niger Delta as evidence of accountability gap

The convergence said the Niger Delta experience shows why corporate accountability could not be left solely to national legal systems.

For decades, oil-producing communities in the region have complained about pollution and environmental degradation associated with oil exploration and production, while efforts to obtain compensation, remediation and other forms of redress have often involved lengthy legal and regulatory processes.

The participants said such challenges were compounded when corporate ownership, decision-making, financing and operations crossed national borders.

They identified information asymmetry, weak domestic enforcement, high litigation costs, inadequate access to evidence, complex corporate structures and jurisdictional barriers as major obstacles confronting affected communities.

“Corporate accountability cannot depend solely on voluntary commitments or the effectiveness of individual national legal systems,” the groups said in their communiqué.

They explained that national laws remain essential but cannot, on their own, adequately regulate corporations whose ownership, financing, supply chains and decision-making extend across multiple jurisdictions.

The convergence was moderated by Maimoni Ubrei-Joe, a climate justice campaigner at the Community Development Advocacy Foundation and Environmental Defenders Network.

Volahery Andriamanantenasoa of CONCRET-S/Human Rights, Madagascar; Farai Magwuwu of the Centre for Natural Resources Governance, Zimbabwe; Ahmed Elseidi of the Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights; Zaki Mamdo of the StopACOP Coalition, Kenya; and Constance Meju of AmazonaAfrica Magazine, Nigeria, participated as speakers.

Other African cases

The participants said the accountability problems exposed in the Niger Delta were also reflected in other parts of Africa.

They cited the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project in Uganda and Tanzania in relation to land acquisition, disputed compensation, livelihood impacts and environmental concerns.

The project, they said, also exposed the difficulty of determining responsibility where corporate ownership, financing and business relationships extend beyond the countries where affected communities live.

Concerns involving Indigenous and local communities in Tanzania, including Loliondo, were cited as examples of the need to protect land rights, ensure meaningful participation and provide effective remedies where commercial or conservation-related activities affect territories, resources and livelihoods.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the group referred to cobalt and copper supply chains and concerns over forced evictions, destruction of homes and agricultural land and inadequate compensation.

They warned that the global transition to clean energy must not reproduce the extractive practices that have historically harmed African communities.

The Marikana tragedy in South Africa was also cited in connection with workers’ rights, freedom of association, safe working conditions and corporate accountability.

The Chad-Cameroon pipeline was presented as another example of the difficulty of assigning responsibility in cross-border projects involving governments, corporations, contractors, financiers and international institutions.

Experiences in phosphate-producing regions of Tunisia were similarly cited in relation to environmental degradation, economic inequality, labour rights and civic freedoms.

What the group wants

The CSOs called for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence covering corporations’ operations and business relationships.

They said companies should be required to identify, prevent, mitigate and address actual and potential human rights and environmental impacts, with meaningful consultation and participation by affected communities and workers.

They said the proposed treaty should also provide for civil and administrative liability and, where applicable, criminal liability for corporations and responsible individuals involved in human rights violations.

The group called for parent-company and corporate-group responsibility where abuses occur through subsidiaries, contractors, subcontractors, joint ventures or other business relationships when a parent company exercises control, direction, major influence or other relevant forms of responsibility.

They also want corporate legal structures prevented from being used to frustrate victims’ access to justice.

The group said victims should have access to courts and other effective remedy mechanisms regardless of where the relevant corporate decision-making or ownership is located.

They called for measures to address excessive litigation costs, judicial delays, inadequate legal assistance, limited access to evidence, information asymmetry, jurisdictional barriers and difficulties enforcing judgments across borders.

Where harm occurs, they said remedies should include, where appropriate, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, guarantees of non-repetition and environmental restoration.

Defenders, communities need protection

The convergence also called for stronger protection for environmental defenders, human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists and community leaders who expose corporate abuses.

It said such individuals and groups should be protected against intimidation, violence, harassment, criminalisation and retaliation.

The group demanded meaningful participation by indigenous peoples and affected communities in decisions concerning projects that could affect their lands, territories, resources, cultures and livelihoods.

Africa urged to speak with one voice

The organisations called on African governments to strengthen national laws regulating transnational corporations and ensure effective enforcement of environmental, labour and human rights standards.

They urged governments to strengthen the independence, resources and technical capacity of regulatory agencies and improve transparency around corporate ownership, contracts and beneficial ownership.

Energy transition warning

The group warned that the global shift towards renewable energy and low-carbon development should not create a new cycle of extraction and environmental injustice in Africa.

They said the transition must respect human rights and should not reproduce extractive patterns that disproportionately harm African communities.

The communiqué, adopted on 7 October, is intended to serve as a collective contribution to the United Nations treaty process and an advocacy instrument for African governments, treaty negotiators, UN institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

It was endorsed by the Community Development Advocacy Foundation, Neferok Development Initiative, Renevlyn Development Initiative, Environmental Defenders Network, African Centre for Environmental and Rural Development, FIDEP Foundation, African people and participating affected communities.