By Nomfundo Manyathi
Pan-African non-governmental organisation Africa Legal Aid (Afla) and Johannesburg law firm Webber Wentzel partnered to host a recent human rights and business conference, which took place in Johannesburg from 5 to 6 July.
Topics covered at the conference included the emerging regime of human rights and business, corporate accountability and human rights, and gender perspectives on human rights.
The conference was part of a series of events examining the interface between corporate accountability and human rights on the African continent.
In the welcoming address, senior partner at Webber Wentzel, David Lancaster, said that a balance needed to be struck between the protection of human rights and the success of a business, and that the rule of law was fundamental to both aims.
Afla executive director Evelyn Ankumah addressed delegates on the emerging regime of human rights and business. She said that human rights were ‘good for business’ and that economic and social rights and civil and political rights were ‘two sides of the same coin’. Ms Ankumah added that businesses thrived when there was stability and legal certainty and that employees whose rights were protected were more committed and determined than employees who were exploited in the workplace.
Afla council member Shadrack Gutto, who is also a professor at Unisa’s Institute for African Renaissance Studies, said that businesses in Africa had played both negative and positive roles in respect of human rights – in some instances they had contributed to undermining rights and in others they had enhanced rights.
Human rights and business adviser at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Lene Wendland, spoke about the new guiding principles on business and human rights that were developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. She said that these principles were endorsed by the Human Rights Council on 16 June 2011 and were based on –
She said that these principles were a global standard for all states and businesses, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership or structure.
Africa legal representative at the International Legal Assistance Consortium, Rodger Chongwe, said that the rule of law in Africa must be understood from grass-root level ‘all the way up to the top’. He commended South Africa for its paralegal system and its ability to take justice and the rule of law to people in rural areas.
Mr Chongwe added that he had not lost hope in the African justice system, but he believed that it needed to be strengthened.
Senior legal adviser at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Roland Amoussouga, lauded Kenya as an example for other African countries. He said there were many reforms taking place in Kenya, adding that there was a vetting system in place for all new judges in the country. He said: ‘The interviews are broadcast on television; the public is invited to the interviews and they are allowed to comment on the judges after broadcast. Transparency is the name of the game.’
Speaking on gender perspectives in relation to human rights, President of the Ugandan Association of Women Lawyers, Laura Nyirinkindi, said that there was a large gender division in the labour market in Africa. She said that it was mostly women who were subjected to sexual harassment and that many businesses had poor or no maternity rights. Ms Nyirinkindi added that women in some African countries faced other difficulties, such as being prohibited from inheriting land and from obtaining financial assistance from banks without their husband acting as guarantor.
Nomfundo Manyathi, nomfundo@derebus.org.za
This article was first published in De Rebus in 2012 (Aug) DR 10.