Working Group Chairperson
Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations
22. From 27 to 28 September 2010, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Commission’s Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa I took part in a conference on Legal Remedies and the Role of Lawyers in Protecting Human Rights in the Context of Corporate Activity organized by the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva, Switzerland in protecting human rights in the context of corporate activity.
23. I made a presentation on the background to the creation of the Working Group, the purpose of the Working Group and how it hopes to contribute to redressing human rights violations by corporations operating in the continent. The two day conference deliberated various topics including identifying the problems and possible solutions in the context of administrative remedies, problems and possible solutions in attributing criminal liability to corporations, common issues in relation to legal remedies and institutional opportunities.
24. From 1 to 2 November 2010, as a member of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Africa, I participated in a workshop on Extra- territorial obligations (ETOs) for the African Regional in Pretoria, South Africa,. The meeting was co-organized by the Centre for Human Rights, Pretoria, FIAN International and SAIFAC.
25. The purpose of the Workshop was to examine the many challenges posed by the developing concept of extra territorial obligations in the human rights discourse. In particular the event was intended to achieve two objectives namely the popularization of the issue of ETO and the facilitation of input on the conceptual/legal issues.
26. The significance of ETO for specific policy/thematic fields (i.e. Investment/finance, trade, development assistance, climate, etc) were among the topics discussed. I made a presentation on the establishment and future of the working Group on Extractive Industries and possible areas of future cooperation between the African Commission and the ETO Consortium.
