Press Statement on the 5th Regional Forum on Extractive Industries, Business and Human Rights, and Environment in Africa
23 April 2026
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), through its Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa (Working Group on Extractive Industries), is convening its 5th Regional Forum on Extractive Industries, Business and Human Rights, and Environment in Africa. The Forum is being held from 05 to 06 May 2026, in Dakar, Senegal.
The Forum is being convened under the theme “Advancing Responsible Extractive Governance in Africa and in the context of the global rush for critical minerals: Insights from 40 years of promotion of the African Charter,” through the support of the Open Society Foundation.
The Forum, which is part of the promotion mandate of the Commission, is being organised within the framework of Article 45 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter).
Within this framework, the Regional Forum, convened under the leadership of the WGEI, serves as a key multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue and engagement among Governments, policymakers, civil society, affected communities, the private sector, and academia. It aims to promote the effective integration of human rights standards into extractive sector governance, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences, and support the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations in this area.
The Regional Forum seeks to:
• Create a multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue on the intersection of extractive industries, human rights, environmental protection, and water governance in Africa, including tensions between development imperatives and the protection of human and peoples’ rights.
• Strengthen accountability for extractive-related human rights, environmental, and water and sanitation impacts, including through the application of the ACHPR State Reporting Guidelines on Articles 21 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• Promote the dissemination and practical implementation of ACHPR normative instruments, including the presentation of the Background Study on the Operations of the Extractive Industries Sector in Africa and discussions on emerging normative developments such as the General Comment on the right to a satisfactory environment.
• Advance responsible business conduct in the extractive sector by promoting operationalisation of WGEI soft law standards.
• Identify persistent and emerging governance challenges in the extractive sector and facilitate peer learning, including the sharing of best practices and replication-ready reforms among States Parties, National Human Rights Institutions, civil society, and industry actors.
• Support inclusive and sustainable natural resource governance by facilitating the development of continental standards within the framework of ACHPR Resolution 550, Resolution 551 and Resolution 633, in addition to mainstreaming African Charter standards into AU development and governance frameworks, including Agenda 2063 and the Africa Mining Vision.
The Forum will bring together stakeholders from diverse sectors, including: African Union organs and institutions; National Human Rights Institutions; representation from policy, regulatory, and reporting institutions across States Parties, and development sectors; civil society organisations and community-based groups; representatives of affected communities; Extractive industry actors; and international and regional partners.
The Forum will also be attended and facilitated by Honourable Commissioners Solomon Ayele Dersso, the Chairperson of the WGEI and Dr. Litha Musymi-Ogana, the Vice-Chairperson of the WGEI, in addition to Expert Members of the WGEI, and staff of the Secretariat of the Commission.
For further information, please contact:
Secretariat
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
31 Bijilo Annex Lay-out, Kombo North District, Western Region.
PO Box 673
Banjul, The Gambia
Email: au-banjul@AfricanUnion.org
Ms Samatha Kambule
Senior Public Relations Officer
Email: KambuleS@AfricanUnion.org
