INTERNATIONAL Non-Governmental Environmental Organisation Friends of the Earth – Africa (FoE-Africa) has petitioned the African Union (AU) on the activities of multinationals negatively impacting communities on the continent.
It urged the AU to defend communities from degradation and other forms of abuse.
FoE-Africa also urged the AU to hold multinationals and their financiers accountable for their inputs in deforestation and related human rights violations in the region.
FoEA offers checks on the activities of multinationals on the continent and the West Africa sub-region that abuse the rights of Africans.
The group presented an eight-point resolution to the 73rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) in The Gambia.
It urged the commission to halt the criminalisation and harassment of environmental human rights defenders including women environmental rights defenders.
FoEA Coordinator, Rita Uwaka, revealed in an online interaction with newsmen that it had stepped up efforts in challenging multinationals’ violation of the rights of communities.
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The resolutions, according to her, are geared towards finding solutions to the increasing rate of social, environmental and gender violations connected to land grabs and deforestation for industrial plantation expansion by agro-commodities companies on the continent.
She noted that the rights violations have grave impacts on local communities, forest-dependent peoples, and smallholder farmers with aggravated consequences on women and their families.
The group urged the African Commission to “Ensure that the perpetrators of deforestation and related human rights violations, including transnational companies and their financiers, are held accountable for their inputs and do not continue their practices with impunity.
“Assist authorities to implement a moratorium on the expansion of land-based concessions for monoculture plantations that lead to deforestation, biodiversity loss and related human rights violations.
“Support authorities to install programmes that promote agroecology and family farming, a community-based agriculture devoid of chemical use and community forest management methods, including providing access to finance for smallholders.”
“Encourage African government and the African Union to engage proactively in the process towards a strong and effective UN Binding Treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, in order to stop corporate impunity and hold corporations accountable including agro-commodities companies for their environmental and human, rights violations in Africa.”