Leading sustainability experts have called for the urgent prioritisation of fundamental human rights in the design, negotiation, planning, and implementation of land-based investments, in order to address adverse economic, social and environmental impacts to local communities that depend on traditional lands and forests for their lives and livelihoods.
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The recommendation was made at a public lecture to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day. The World Environment Day is an annual event led by the United Nations Environment Programme and held annually on 5 June worldwide to promote global awareness on environmental issues.
Themed “Human and Environmental Rights at risk under Land-Based Investments in Emerging Markets,” the commemoration ceremony was organized by the Business and Human Committee of the International Law Association (Nigerian branch) chaired by Dr. Oyeniyi Abe, and held in partnership with the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the University of Bradford, United Kingdom.
The ceremony featured a compelling keynote lecture by Prof. Hajer Gueldich, Legal Counsel of the African Union and Professor of Law at the University of Carthage, Tunisia, and Former Chairperson of the African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL). Professor Gueldich called on stakeholders in business and investment across Africa, including Nigeria, to actively mainstream responsible and human-rights based approach to investment in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. She emphasized the need for transparent environment impact assessments (EIAs), human rights impact assessments, and free prior informed consent of landowners and communities as crucial pillars for anticipating and addressing human rights risks.
The keynote conversation was followed by high-level panel discussions featuring eminent experts including Professor Lanre Adigun Fagbohun, SAN, former Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University; Joan Carling, an indigenous activist from the Cordillera, Philippines; and Dr. Pedi Obani, Associate Professor of the School of Law, University of Bradford, and Nabila Gaduya, a member of the BHR Committee. The speakers noted the urgent need to deepen human rights education, gender responsive local capacity building and employment, enhance availability of meaningful remedies and foster transparent monitoring and evaluation of compliance by corporate actors to effectively break the vicious cycle of significant environmental harm and human rights violations linked to land-based investments.
In his opening goodwill message, WCEL member and the President of the International Law Association (Nigerian Branch), who is also an Independent Expert of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN said
“Land is life. Yet in many economic sectors, especially in fast-moving consumer goods, extractives, and agribusiness sectors, land-based investments remain associated with human rights concerns including land grabbing, lack of adequate compensation, and forced displacement of impacted communities. This year’s World Environment Day is a timely reminder for all business enterprises, governments and other stakeholders to ensure a renewed commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international human rights instruments in all spheres of their operations. I congratulate the ILA Nigeria BHR Committee for bringing us together to discuss this timely and topical issue on this auspicious occasion of the World Environment Day.”
On his part, the Chairperson of the BHR Committee, Dr. Oyeniyi Abe, a leading business and human rights expert in Africa, charged governments at all levels, as well as the various stakeholders to not only ensure corporate responsibility and accountability in the context of large-scale land investments, but to also deepen capacity development and education on business and human rights through continued collaboration and partnerships in line with the United Nations SDG 17. He noted that the ILA BHR Committee remains ready to support such training and capacity development efforts on corporate responsibility and BHR.
The ILA was founded in Brussels in 1873. The ILA now has some 4,500 members in 45 national and regional branches around the world. It is headquartered in London under the leadership of the global chair, Professor Christine Chinkin. The Nigerian Branch of the ILA regularly hosts innovative lectures, seminars, conferences, and other capacity development programs to advance the study and understanding of international law in Nigeria. To learn more about the ILA, its activities, and events visit http://www.ila-hq.org
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