A local non-governmental organization, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) has partnered the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) to capacitate community based organizations on issues to do with business and human rights.
By Donald Nyarota
ZELA legal officer Darlington Chidarara told 263Chat that the program is meant to train community based organizations in the mining areas in tandem with the United Nation guiding principles on business and human rights.
He revealed that ZELA has partnered the ZHRC to ensure posterity of human rights awareness in resource rich communities as the commission is mandated by the constitution to protect human rights.
“As an organization we are not against mining but we are calling for the government to provide adequate legislatures to ensure that extraction of resources is done responsibly and communities where resources are being extracted also benefit.
“We were targeting six community based organization in Manicaland, which is a resource rich province and we are partnering ZHRC because we realized that community rights have to be actioned as well.
“We realized that we may have limited capacity but we have a constitutionally created body, the commission which will help in ensuring that the issues raised by communities with regards to business and human rights are actioned and investigated,” he said.
Chidarara said the UN guiding principles provide guidelines for the government and companies to protect, respect and provide remedies with regards to business and human rights.
He said negotiations involving civic society, business and the government have already been set in motion.
“These are a set of guidelines for the government and companies to prevent, address and bring remedy to human rights abuses which are committed in business operations.
“Negotiations are underway to ensure that guiding principles be turned into a binding treaty to equate the principles into a charter which can be ratified into national laws.
“ZELA has been involved in these negotiations and we are advocating that the government joins into these discussions which we believe would be a proactive stance,” he said.
An official from ZHRC made it known that the commission is holding consultations to come with a tailor made national road map on human and business rights.
“We are coming up with a national action plan on Business and Human Rights that will ensure that the country has a clear road map and we have done the first stage involving all through consultative process.
“We would want to expedite this process to ensure that we have a working, comprehensive and binding national document.
“This plan will encompass the UNGP to ratify what can be implemented on the ground, a home based and tailor made to ensure that the state as the duty bearer is held accountable, but not only the state but also business,” said the ZHRC official.
UN guiding principles requires both state and businesses to ensure greater access by victims of business related human rights abuses to effectively remedy both judicial and non-judicial means.
The principles affirm the states’ duty to protect rights including when such human rights are violated by companies in their jurisdiction and ensure access to an effective remedy for those affected.
