May 30, 2021
Human Right Defenders Conference on environment and natural resources exploitation in West Africa started yesterday via zoom links. It is a high profile meeting by courtesy of the Mano River Union Civil Society Platform that had been initiated by Green Advocate International, operating from Liberia.
The conference has succeeded to bring to the UN Special Rapporteurs for Human and Peoples Rights and Indigenous Rights, attesting to the elevation of the discourse on an important discourse that had been under-reported.
This three day conference is important for many reasons insofar it is following up on Peoples Forum of 2018 that was convened in Makeni to create a platform for professional and grassroot frontline defenders to share knowledge on what obtains in various countries about the fight to protect natural resources and environment. That event opened the floodgate of recriminations against multinational companies wining concession agreements in agriculture, mining and fisheries, mostly without inform prior consents of the indigenes. One major take away of the Makeni even was the fact that there are egregious violations and abuses of grassroot frontline defenders which have not been captured in reports of Global Witness and the state had appeared complicit in these violations and abuses. What obtained under the auspices of the Mano River CSO Platform was not the usual talk show without any action plan to respond to varied testimonials that were captured.
On the contrary, we are witnessing the consummation of various action plans that were initiated in Makeni. The question is answered: Why the conference that started yesterday March 29…
Green Advocate International provides the insight: Human Rights Defenders, especially Frontline Grassroots Environmental, Land, and Human Rights Defenders in West Africa, face challenging and threatening situations that make the work they do very difficult. Given the enormous barriers and risks faced by HRDs in their work, there is an urgent need to understand better who these Frontline Grassroots Defenders are, what strategies they use to keep themselves safe, and where the gaps are — to connect the unconnected and establish a support and response mechanism for frontline grassroots environmental, land, and human rights defenders across West Africa.
A recent report co-authored by Alfred Lahai Brownell Sr., Tom & Andi Bernstein Visiting Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School; Green Advocates International, a human rights organization in Liberia; and several other human rights organizations in West Africa seeks to fill those needs.
The report is a comprehensive baseline assessment that compiles the experiences, knowledge, lessons learned, skills, expertise, and practices of Frontline Grassroots Defenders across the West African region.
The patterns of attacks and agreessions of what grassroot frontline defenders are facing from the baseline shows identical patterns. From Guinea, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ghana, Liberia and Niger, there reports of security reprisal attacks, evictions from traditional and sacred sites, loss of livelihood mechanism for especially women, detention, kidnaps and others form of brutality. The ongoing panel discussions have corroborated the findings in comments heard.
One of the sponsor institutions of the unfolding zoom conference Mathoni Wanyek of Open Society Institute made some strong statements that can serve as an inspiration to further the agenda of providing protection for the women and men working to protect the lands.
She said the sub region is rich but actually poor. She talk about risky ecosystem that require various form of support for those advocating against land grab and predatory tendencies. She suggested training needs, redress in litigation supports, emergency wuick response and removal of defenders from the specific context when situations get really dire. She stressed solidarity actions in the circumstance and pledged the sustained support as a follow up to what is discussed.
Other salient contributions was captured from yesterday’s zoom conference with Dr. Allan Goodman advancing the case for continued support more than ever before, noting that the COVID 19 situation has made the situation even difficult for grassroot frontline defenders. He thanked the organizers for holding the forte.
The choice of the keynote speaker was strategic, Professor Remy Ngoy Lumbu of the Africa Human Rights Commission said the conference is inspiring for especially West Africa that has a litany of human rights violations for environmental defenders citing a couple of countries whose cases have been captured. He spoke on the principles of protection and set the tone of the conversation using the bible allusion of David, depicting the grassroot frontline defenders Goliath, the multinational companies riding rough shod on the defenders, the David.
He implored CSOs to take advantage of the growing interest in the plight of the David by reporting to the commission such attacks, abuses and violations of their rights. He assured that they can listen and urge governments to take actions in specific cases.
The conference is rolling out and it is bound to come out with key recommendations to be captured in communiqué. The beginning has presaged a changing narrative of respect and protection of the men and women who are holding out their own to protect the land and the environment as a legitimate right that is compromised in the sub region.