Documenting and Responding to Attacks: Addressing gaps and strengthening protection of human rights defenders in Africa

Session partners:

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

• Natural Justice

• Alliance for Land, Indigenous, and Environmental Defenders

Background 

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Human rights defenders across Africa are taking action to protect their communities and lands from unsustainable resource extraction, advocating for rights-respecting business practice, and advancing a just energy transition. Businesses have the responsibility to respect human rights, including the right of all people to defend human rights. When companies and financial institutions fail to listen to HRDs, they lose important allies – people and groups fighting for transparency and accountability, and against corruption, which are all essential elements of an open and stable business operating environment. In addition, defenders provide companies and investors with crucial information about their human rights risks and impacts that they need to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence.

 

Despite their vital human rights work, defenders often face great risk. Between January 2015 and December 2024, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre tracked close to 600 attacks on human rights defenders in Africa raising concerns about business-related risks and harms, yet this is just the tip of the iceberg – in reality the scale of attacks is much higher. There is a significant gap in information about attacks on defenders in Africa, which is important to address to strengthen protection efforts, as well as government and business policy and practice.

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Human rights defenders and several grassroots, regional, and global civil society organisations are engaged in efforts to address this gap. This session will explore the vital work of African defenders raising concerns about business-related risks and harms, the nature of attacks against them and related trends, and efforts to address the gaps in documentation and protection.

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Key Objectives

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• Strengthen recognition and understanding of the vital work of defenders advocating for corporate respect for human rights and advancing a just energy transition in Africa

• Deepen knowledge about the scale and nature of attacks against defenders in Africa raising concerns about business-related risks and harms, including the business sectors connected with the highest number of attacks and sub-regional trends

• Expand understanding of the role and responsibilities of companies, investors, and international finance institutions related to attacks on defenders raising concerns about business

• Increase awareness of protection mechanisms and efforts that support African defenders raising concerns about business-related risks and harms

• Highlight gaps in information to help strengthen documentation of attacks on defenders in Africa and protection support
   

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Guiding Question

• What is the scale, nature, and trends of attacks on human rights defenders raising concerns about business human rights risks and harms in Africa? What are gaps in existing data, why, and what initiatives are addressing these?

• How can business actors be connected with attacks on human rights defenders? What gaps are you seeing between policy and practice?

• What are the responsibilities of business actors related to human rights defenders under international law and how is this part of company, investor, and financial institution human rights and environmental due diligence? How does consulting with defenders help reduce business risk?

• What are the strengths and challenges with existing protection mechanisms in Africa?

• What key recommendations do you have for States and business actors to prevent attacks and strengthen protection of defenders raising concerns about business projects?

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Expected Outcomes

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• Increased understanding among company, investor, government, financial institution, and civil society representatives about the vital work of human rights defenders across Africa to advance responsible business practice and the retaliation they faceIncreased understanding among company, investor, government, financial institutio

• Deeper knowledge about the State duty to protect defenders and the corporate responsibility to respect the rights of defenders

• Expanded awareness among civil society about the defender protection mechanisms that exist in Africa

• Concrete recommendations from human rights defenders to States and governments to reduce the gap between policy and practice and strengthen protections for defenders