Human Right Youth Coalition- Sierra Leone (HYRC-SL) with Support from UNDP has engaged residents of Dasse Chiefdom in Moyamba Chiefdom in a day community gender sensitive forum on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and the Sexual Offences Act, 2019.
The training took place at the Dasse Barray Chiefdom in Moyamba District last Friday.
In his statement, the lead facilitator, Mohamed E. Josiah said that the mining companies have their corporate responsibility to respect, and protect human rights.
According to him, there should be structures to address abuse or violation of rights, adding that complaints address mechanisms need to be in place so that there will be respect and protection of human rights, adding that there should be grievance committee to investigate violations of human rights.
“But if this is lacking it will result to violence in the society which should not be the case,” he said.
Mr. Josiah said that they had received a lot of reports about multinational companies violating the rights of the employees working in those companies.
He noted that the States must protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction third parties, including business enterprises (Mining Companies).
This, he said, requires taking appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and address such abuse through effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication.
He said according to the UN Guiding Principle,‘’the States should set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations and in meeting their duty to protect, states should: enforce laws that are aimed at, or have the effect of, requiring business enterprises to respect human rights, and periodically to assess the adequacy of such laws and address any gaps; ensure that other laws and policies governing the creation and ongoing operation of business enterprises, such as corporate law, do not constrain but enable business respect for human rights; [rovide effective guidance to business enterprises on how to respect human rights throughout their operations; encourage, and where appropriate require, business enterprises to communicate how they address their human rights impacts.’’
In his statement, the National Coordinator of Human Rights Youth Coalition Sierra Leone, Prince K. Kallon called on the mining companies and the government to ensure that rights of the people in the mining companies are not only protected but also respected.
Mr. Kallon said that HRYC is a youth serving agency that ensures that the rights of the youths, including women, are protected in the country. He said that they have held a lot of advocacies for the empowerment of the vulnerable people in the communities amidst the provision of paralegal services.
He said that they engaged the people including the landowners in the mining communities in Imperi Chiefdom and they raised a lot of human rights violations, including not involved in land agreements, and pollution of water.
Mr. Kallon said that they have brought these issues to the attention of the mining companies and the government for their intervention.
Mr. Kallon said that the people are not involved in mining agreement which should not be the case, noting that there should be review of laws and policies on mining agreement to benefit the people.
Mr. Kallon said that they will put in place grievance addressing mechanisms to ensure that the places where the multinational companies are operating are peaceful.
One of the participants said that they were ignorant about of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Right, noting that the intervention of the Human Right Youth Coalition with support from UNDP is step in the right direction.
She said that their rights have been abused and violated by some some mining companies, adding that “we have been empower to speak loud on things that are destroying the communities, women and children in the mining communities.”