Despite the existence of the National Plan, Uganda has continued to witness violations of human rights related to businesses or Investments
The month of August 2024 marked the end of the third year of the five-year National Action Plan on Human Rights in Businesses, but expert reports show that the country has nothing much to show for it. The Plan which is part of a global movement to end human rights violations in business is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and was launched in August 2021, with Uganda becoming the 30th country to have one.
The UN Guiding Principles are based on three pillars, namely, The State's duty to protect human rights, The corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and Access to remedy by those whose rights are violated. Over the last five years, however, there have been several new and ongoing violations, which, according to experts and reports, are committed so that investors meet their Investment expectations at the expense of their workers and neighboring communities.
Some of the documented ones and those reported on by the media include land grabbing and forceful evictions, mistreatment of laborers by external labor recruitment companies, rape and defilement by workers of infrastructure firms, pollution, and mistreatment and intimidation by mining companies among others.
Some examples of the documented cases include the ongoing Apaa Land dispute sparked off when the government attempted to declare it part of the gazetted wildlife reserve, though residents claim the government wants to take it over for a private sugar investor. Here are some examples of reports on human rights violations by investors in Uganda:
Others are "Forced Displacement and Human Rights Abuses in Mubende District" at a gold mining project, documented by Amnesty International the "The Dark Side of Sugar: Forced Labor, Illegal Evictions, and Environmental Devastation in Uganda's Sugar Industry" by Human Rights Watch, and the "Unchecked Power: Human Rights Abuses by the Uganda People's Defence Forces in Mubende District" by Human Rights Watch, about human rights violations, including forced displacement and violence, related to gold mining.
Documented by Oxfam International in 2023, "Land Grabbing and Human Rights in Uganda" highlights cases of land grabbing and forced evictions for agricultural and infrastructure projects, while abuses were also compiled under: "Uganda's Oil and Gas Sector: A Review of the Human Rights Impacts" by the Uganda Land Alliance, on environment degradation and evictions.
Stories are also told of a flower firm ordering workers to spray the flowers with pesticides while naked.
The idea is assumed to be that clothes carry the smell of the chemicals to the public when the workers leave the farm and this may cause suspicion, while after spraying when naked, the smell can be suppressed by bathing before they dress up again. These reports demonstrate the range of human rights issues related to investor activities in Uganda.
Uganda's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAPBHR) is aimed at putting in place measures to prevent violations or offer redress. Commenting on the importance of the Plan, Betty Amongi, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, notes that while large-scale investments are vital for the development of the country, they come with challenges like underpayment or no payment, displacement of the people without upfront compensations, increased use of child labor, environmental pollution, and land conflicts, among others.
"The NAPBHR seeks to promote a harmonious relationship in which both businesses and communities can thrive by providing a comprehensive framework for the coordination of multi-sectoral efforts to ensure respect for human rights in business operations," she said, adding that the Plan is the elimination of human rights violations and abuses in business activities by any person or entity.
However, some multinationals are said to be more powerful than some governments that host them, a situation made worse by the skewed agreements between the corporation and the host government. For that, it is hard for a state to rein in an errant multinational. "The government can say, for example, that to protect the environment, we are banning such an activity on the Lake. Do you know that the company can sue the government over that?," said Jane Nalunga, the Executive Director of SEATINI Uganda, stressing the mistake made when drawing agreements.
This is not to say that the government has no will to implement the Plan. The strategies advanced include: Strengthen coordination between the different government agencies working on business and human rights; In implementing the plan the strategies advanced include: Strengthen coordination between the different government agencies working on business and human rights; Resource mobilization to promote efficiency in monitoring and addressing business and human rights related abuses and violations.
Others are capacity building for state and non-state actors on business and human rights; Empower communities especially vulnerable persons to claim their rights; Promoting compliance with human rights observance and Promoting FPIC for communities in all business operations; and Improving access to legal services to communities affected by business-related human rights violations and abuses.
Despite the existence of the Plan for three years now, there is a lot to do for it to be relevant, because for now, there are several failures. "These are caused by weak institutional capacity, operations, and coordination efforts of state and non-state actors for the protection and promotion of human rights in businesses," she said.
These are made worse by weak regulatory framework to enforce human rights compliance in business operations, and inadequate supervision of business operations for compliance with human rights standards. Other challenges are that, some businesses do not have internal mechanisms to check against human rights abuses in their operations, uncoordinated efforts to ensure respect for human rights by business operations, and knowledge gap on a human rights-based approach to programming by state and non-state actors, business operators and the community.
In the face of all the above, the Plan has registered some successes which include the establishment of the National Action Plan Implementation Committee and the development of sector-specific guidelines for responsible investment in areas like agriculture and mining. Another area is the Strengthening of regulatory bodies like the Uganda Human Rights Commission and the National Environment Management Authority., as well as the Launch of the Uganda Business and Human Rights Portal for reporting and tracking incidents.
Another milestone reached is, .Capacity-building programs for government officials, law enforcement, and judicial officers on business and human rights and also Efforts to improve transparency and public participation in investment decision-making processes. However, more needs to be done.
