National Action Plan on Business & Human Rights

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Bekeme Masade-Olowola
Chief Executive
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For more than a decade, numerous initiatives, including the development of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR), have arisen with the aim of developing laws, policies, and regulations that effectuate standards on the role of the private sector in respecting human rights.

Remarkably, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) in 2011, putting forth the first widely agreed-upon articulation of the State duty to protect people from human rights abuses perpetrated by business; the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights and the indispensable role of access to an effective remedy for victims of business-related human rights harms.

In the case of Nigeria, there are no multinationals of Nigerian origin except for Glo, Dangote Group, UBA, Zenith Bank and a couple of other banks. Instead, there are multinationals that have their home countries regulating them. The implication of this is that the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) will pay attention to both foreign multinationals and indigenous Nigerian firms. In as much as the UNGP is for all kinds of businesses no matter their size and location, it implies that there is a lot of balance required on the part of Nigeria because of the delicate nature of some of the diplomatic relationships involved.

As part of Nigeria’s commitment to her pact on the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights, a consultative draft of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) was adopted in February 2017.

Accordingly, the domesticated framework is aimed at building mutually beneficial relationships between communities and businesses, with the Nigerian government acting as the credible third party, moderating this relationship. The plan details actions to ensure businesses do not violate human rights.

NAPBHR is an integrated national strategy to implement the UNGP and ensure that both businesses and communities co-exist harmoniously and gain maximum benefits from the presence and operations of businesses in Nigeria.

State Duty to Protect Human Rights

The government, through its relevant agencies and departments, is required to engage in a massive mobilization, sensitization and awareness-creation with regards to the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Other stakeholders such as civil society groups and the media have roles to play in awareness creation on UNGP and the resultant NAPBHR.

The NAPBHR mandates the Federal Government of Nigeria and all the state governments to include in all contracts, Memoranda of Understanding and other policy documents, a clause that clearly spells out the human rights obligations of the parties including possible sanctions for violations.

The plan equally recognizes the Free prior and informed consent (FPIC) as a principle that empowers a community to exercise its right to give or withhold its consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy or otherwise use.

Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

The Corporate Responsibility to respect human rights implies that companies must avoid infringing on the rights of individuals and communities, not do anything to undermine the state ability to protect human rights and the willingness to put in place measures to address human rights abuses when they occur.

Companies operating in Nigeria are expected to have a clear, simple and understandable human rights policy within their value chain that reflects the principles…

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