In a petition to be presented to the Commission later this month, the victims, led by representatives of national and international networks and human rights and extractive industry advocacy NGOs from Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia, and Zambia will urge the ACHPR commissioners to take a serious view of the destructive activities of some mining companies in their countries.

The petitioners will recommend to the ACHPR commissioners to condemn human rights violations resulting from the extractive sector, institute investigations into the abuses and appoint a Special Rapporteur to police the extractive sector across Africa.

Established by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which came into force on 21 October 1986, the ACHPR is charged with ensuring the promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights throughout Africa. Ironically, the Commission has its headquarters in Banjul, The Gambia, where the Jammeh government has all, but stifled press freedom and free expression and criminalized dissenting views.

The group will remind the Commissioners that the provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which require the promotion and protection of human rights and obligates member states to promote the socio economic development of Africa cannot be disassociated from economic, social and cultural rights.

reference this news : allafrica.com