Seeking Justice at the International Level - New Guide Published by Natural Justice

Grievance mechanisms are one avenue for indigenous peoples and local communities to have addressed issues and concerns arising from impact by projects, such as those related to extractive industries and infrastructure. However, the processes and procedures of grievance mechanisms are often buried deep in operational policies and guidelines catering toward technocrats, rather than those communities likely to need them. Thus, much work has been done to develop and improve communities’ access to grievance mechanisms by producing publications that break down and explain such mechanisms in a more user-friendly way. 

The goal  of this document ‘Seeking Justice at the International Level: A short guide to Regional and International Grievance and Advocacy Mechanisms For Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’, is to provide a brief overview of relevant mechanisms that communities can use to potentially address an issue, to get a sense of the focus of each mechanism and in what contexts they might be useful.

Review of RSPO's Complaints System Published

In 2014, Natural Justice was involved in two projects concerning the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). First, from April to November 2014, Natural Justice undertook a review of RSPO’s complaints system in collaboration with BC Initiative, Sdn. Bhd. The review arose from a resolution adopted at the 2012 General Assembly entitled “Guaranteeing Fairness, Transparency and Impartiality in the RSPO Complaints System” and called for the current complaints system to be improved in light of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (particularly Principle 31 on non-judicial grievance mechanisms). After three interim reports and an extensive consultation process, the final report was submitted in December and is publicly available online here.

New Material on the African Commission on Human and People's Rights

Natural Justice has co-produced a community-friendly brochure on the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, as part of the Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms program of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).

The brochure sets out a summary of the African Commission, the African Court and interesting provisions within the African Charter as well as the "Who, What, When, Where and How" of filing a complaint. See the brochure, and other brochures produced by SOMO with its partners, on the Human Rights & Grievance Mechanisms website.

Natural Justice at the African Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights

From the 16th - 18th of September 2014, Natural Justice’s Shalom Ndiku attended the African Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights. The Conference was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and hosted by the United Nations Working Group on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises (the Working Group) at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The Forum was held with the objective of promoting multi-stakeholder dialogue and cooperation on business and human rights (B&HR). Moreover, the Forum was an opportune moment for these diverse parties to discuss the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the GPs) within Africa.  The Forum’s goals included advancing the B&HR agenda in Africa; identifying regional implementation practices, challenges and opportunities; and promoting capacity building initiatives on the GPs.

Reviewing RSPO's Complaints System

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has had a complaints or grievance mechanism for the past several years to allow for social and environmental issues and concerns with the RSPO system itself to be raised and resolved through an institutionalised procedure. This complaints mechanism has been adapted alongside the organisation's Principles and Criteria, but it faces a growing number of critiques from communities, NGOs and companies alike and calls for widespread improvement. Since April 2014, Natural Justice has been undertaking a review of RSPO's complaints system along with BC Initiative Sdn. Bhd. in light of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other relevant international law and policy, experiences from complaints mechanisms in other sectors, and civil society critiques, among other things. The first interim report was submitted in May 2014 and the research will continue until November.

As part of this review, Natural Justice and the RSPO Secretariat held a workshop from 18-19 August in Bandung, Indonesia, with a range of stakeholders. The purpose of the workshop was to seek their feedback on the first interim report and to further develop the recommendations therein, which are divided into four categories, namely: governance, management, procedural, and substantive issues. The recommendations will continue to be developed and refined in the run-up to the 12th Roundtable in November, where a penultimate version of the review will be presented.

Seeking Feedback on New Publication: Human Rights Standards for Conservation (Part I)

A Bajau Laut child begging from tourists near Tun Sakaran
Marine Park, Malaysia. (cc Harry Jonas)

Despite increased recognition that conservation initiatives can violate the human rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, addressing 'unjust' conservation remains a contemporary problem. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Natural Justice are seeking feedback on a series of technical reports that aim to provide clear guidance about the human rights obligations of conservation actors, and specific details of the rights and forms of redress available.

Mining, Oil and Gas at MindSpeak Business Club

http://basetitanium.com/education-and-media/photo-library

On Saturday October 26th Maya Sikand from Natural Justice attended a public forum in Nairobi about the Voluntary Principles and the growing mining, oil and gas sectors in Kenya. The meeting was hosted by business analyst Aly-Khan Saatchu's monthly business club, Mindspeak. The panel featured Cliff Otega, a Kenyan mining analyst, His Excellency David Angell, Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya, Evelyn Samba, Deputy Secretary to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and Simon Wall, Corporate Affairs Manager of Base Titanium. The meeting drew an audience of over 200 people.

The challenges for the new and growing mining sector in Kenya and the opportunities for guidelines such as the Voluntary Principles were discussed by each of the panelists. Cliff Otega pointed out to a room full of young people hoping to benefit from this new industry, that the extractives industry doesn't actually provide many employment opportunities as it is so capital and machinery intensive. Kenya should not look to this as the sector that will transform the economy for youth. However, all the panelists agreed that the multiplier effects, including infrastructure and services development will bring benefits to the region.

Save Lamu Forum on Human and Environmental Rights Monitoring

On Saturday October 5th Steph Booker and Maya Sikand from Natural Justice presented at a Forum hosted by Save Lamu on Human and Environmental Rights Monitoring in Lamu Town. Participants of the meeting included members of the Lamu community from the Islands and Mainland as well as representatives from communities along the LAPSSET corridor. 

Natural Justice gave a presentation on 'What is Human and Environmental Rights Monitoring?'. Participants then separated into groups according to region, and began documenting changes they have witnessed in their areas. This was an important first step in collecting information, and understanding what sort of questions are asked during human rights monitoring. It is hoped that this forum is the beginning of a wider effort at human rights monitoring training for community organisations along the LAPSSET corridor. Such documentation is an important tool when making a case about human or environmental rights abuses against companies or the government.

Presentations were also made by Sarah Singh from Accountability Counsel and Mohammed Ramadhan from the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights on national and international grievance mechanisms. Save Lamu have initiated creative ways to bring all the information about changes in the communities to one central place, for example through text messages.

Advanced Training on Business and Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms

From 30 September to 3 October 2013, Stephanie Booker of Natural Justice supported, and participated in Advanced Training on Business and Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms in Naivasha, Kenya, hosted by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). Attended by over 20 participants from around Africa, the training included: 

• An introduction to grievance mechanisms, including discussions on judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms, the role of National Human Rights Institutions and the African Human Rights System; 
• Preparing complaints, with experts from SOMO and Accountability Counsel presenting on the OECD Guidelines and international financial institutions;
• Writing and filing complaints; and,
• Examination of particular case studies. 

This training complemented similar training sessions in Indonesia and Mexico. To find out more information on SOMO's training on human rights and grievance mechanisms, see here.

Natural Justice Attends Events at World Bank Headquarters Addressing Independent Accountability Mechanisms of International Financial Institutions

On 27 September 2013, the World Bank hosted the Tenth Annual Meeting of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) at its headquarters in Washington, DC. The World Bank created the first IAM twenty years ago when it established the World Bank Inspection Panel to handle the grievances of people affected by its projects. Today, nearly every international financial institution (IFI) has an IAM to provide: 1) a forum for dispute resolution between project-affected people and those implementing the project; and/or 2) a mechanism to ensure that the IFI is complying with its own policies and procedures in regard to specific projects. 

At the meeting, Eimi Watanabe, the Chairperson of the Inspection Panel, made introductory remarks and introduced former Congressman Barney Frank, who worked to create the Inspection Panel, and Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. In his remarks, Mr. Kim noted that the World Bank needed to work to put people first in financing projects around the world. Afterward, a panel made up of World Bank management, top IAM staff, NGO staff, and two community members who had filed complaints with the Inspection Panel addressed issues 

Report on CT REDD+ Dialogue

The outcomes of the Rights-based REDD+ dialogue held in Cape Town in November 2012 have been released in a new report. The dialogue was hosted by Natural Justice with the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation for Southern Africa and the Open Society Iniative for Southern Africa. Issues of concern regarding Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities on the African continent included the limited participation of forest-dependent communities, lack of appropriate REDD+ information, the diversity and complexity of safeguard standards which could increase communities reliance upon outsiders and experts, insufficient or lacking grievance and compliance mechanisms, limited gender awareness, that communities may not be aware of their rights, and that existing rights may not be enforced. 

Participants felt that REDD+ could offer opportunities to Indigenous peoples and local communities including enhanced participation and representation, the chance to call for greater rights especially regarding land tenure, and to seek independent monitoring of REDD+. A post-dialogue analysis of the potential of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) to address rights-based concerns within REDD+ raised during the dialogue suggests that BCPs may have the potential to address some of the key REDD+ challenges faced by forest-dependent communities. While BCPs are no panacea, they could enhance the capacity of communities to articulate their values, customs, and rights if they decide to engage with the REDD+ mechanism. 

The report can be downloaded here.