ARS IURA Consultancy Services Ltd.

Big win for Kenyan content creators who were successful this week against Meta when the appellate labour court ruled that Meta could be sued in Kenyan Courts over their dismissals. https://lnkd.in/dk2wgkmx

Check out our newly updated Toolkit for National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights. We are launching a 2024 edition of our Toolkit, which provides practical step-by-step guidance to develop and implement a National Action Plan (#NAP) aligned with a human rights-based approach. National Action Plans are an important way for States to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (#UNGPs). The Toolkit situates National Action Plans within the evolving business and human rights landscape, highlights the role of national baseline assessments, and explores how National Action Plans can support and complement the implementation of human rights due diligence legislation like the #CSDDD. Importantly, the Toolkit highlights recent real-life good practice examples and innovative approaches. It also highlights challenges faced by those working with National Action Plans, and lessons learned addressing these. The toolkit can be used by governments but also by National Human Rights Institutions, businesses, civil society organisations, trade unions, academics, the media and others when engaging with the development and implementation of National Action Plans. The Toolkit can be accessed in English below or through the link in comments, where you can also find a Spanish and French version.

A total of one thousand two hundred and six (1,206) households physically or economically displaced by the Kabanga Nickel Project in Ngara district have received twenty-six billion (TZS.26,000,000,000/=) which is equivalent to 95% of the compensation payment. According to the statement issued on Monday by Lifezone Metals Limited, the activity started in November 2023 and with the future construction of the Kabanga Nickel Project within the Special Mining Licence, three hundred and forty-nine (349) local households will be physically impacted and nine hundred and ninety (990) will likely be economically impacted. The completion of compensation payments will give Lifezone legal surface tittle to the entire four thousand and three hundred (4,300) hectares of the Kabanga Special Mining Licence area. The statement noted that those who will be affected, have participated in a process of balloting for preferred resettlement sites, as well as selecting and influencing the housing materials, structures and design. The Chief Executive Officer for Lifezone Metals Limited Chris Showalter, said that the company continues to progress its project through a strategic partnership with the Government of Tanzania, which owns free carry stake of 16% and BHP. In addition, he said Lifezone continues to advance its partnership with Glencore to recycle platinum, palladium and rhodium in the United States. The design and engineering for the Kabanga Nickel Project’s Definitive Feasibility Study, which remains on track is expected to be completed by the end of September 2024. As reported in the Guardian Newspaper on 21 August 2024. #businessandhumanrights #extractivesector #compensationtodisplacedpeople

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has established ‘enterprise development programme’ to support households affected by the project in areas it passes through from Hoima in Uganda to the Port of Tanga. Addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam,the EACOP Land and Social Manager in Tanzania - Jean Lennock, said that the pipeline has been implementing the Livelihood Restoration Programme (LRP) aimed at restoring the livelihoods of Project Affected Households (PAHs) to pre-project levels since 2021. She said that to achieve its objective, EACOP has also developed eight Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), each including a LRP. Within the LRP, eight Livelihood Restoration Activities (LRA) have been identified for project affected areas, Project Pipeline Land (PPL), and Project Affected Households (PAHs). The activities include land preparation and planting of replacement agricultural land, maize improvement programme, crop diversification, poultry production programme, livestock improved husbandry programme, improved beekeeping practices, enterprise development and household budgeting and money management training. The overarching goal of LRA programme 7 is to stimulate establishment and growth of business enterprises by supporting 8,971 households along the pipeline route across eight regions namely Kagera, Geita, Shinyanga, Tabora, Singida, Dodoma, Manyara and Tanga. The programme includes comprehensive capacity and needs assessments, addressing challenges hindering enterprise development and integrating with existing and future interventions. As reported in The Guardian Newspaper, 16 August 2024. #livelihoodrestoration #businessandhumanrights

CSDDD is now formally adopted. In February 2022, the European Commission adopted a the proposal for Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”), which impose obligations on businesses to identify, evaluate, prevent, mitigate, and remedy impacts on people and the environment. These impacts range from deforestation and child labor to pollution and damage to ecosystems. = On 24 May 2024, the Council of the European Union formally approved the proposal, thereby completing the adoption process. According to the CSDDD, businesses must establish and implement the necessary procedures for conducting due diligence on their own operations, those of their subsidiaries, and those of their direct and indirect supply chain business partners.  The European Commission stipulates that the aim of the directive is to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behavior in companies’ operations and across their global value chains.  The directive calls for enterprises to manage the environmental and social implications of their operations throughout their whole value chain. This includes their own activities, those of their affiliates, and value chains that are located inside and outside of Europe.  Additionally, companies are required by the CSDDD to carry out and document extensive due diligence on their own operations, subsidiaries, and supply chains. It highlights that a company's upstream business partners are included in the chain of activities when it comes to the production, distribution, transportation, and storage of goods or the rendering of services. This includes the planning, sourcing, extraction, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and provision of raw materials, finished goods, or parts thereof, as well as the development of the final good or service. Generally, the CSDDD, which is a significant advancement overall, comes into effect twenty days after it is published in the European Union's Official Journal. European Member States will have two years to provide the relevant texts to the Commission and enact the directive into national law. This adoption of the CSDDD will no doubt have a ripple effect in African countries, particularly where transnational corporations are doing business in Africa, including Tanzania. #CSDDD #businessandhumanrights #corporateresponsibility #europeandirective https://lnkd.in/eqNsTAza

Case Review of Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others V. Switzerland (ECHR) #climatechange #humanrights #climatechangeandhumanrights

Case Review of Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others V. Switzerland (ECHR) #climatechange #humanrights #climatechangeandhumanrights

Case Review of Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz and Others V. Switzerland (ECHR) #climatechange #humanrights #climatechangeandhumanrights

"The Court's decision in the case against Switzerland establishes that states have a duty to protect their citizens from severe climate changes," says Louise Holck, director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights. For the first time, the European Court of Human Rights concludes that states have a positive obligation to ensure climate action and concrete climate targets. It happened in a case against Switzerland, where the court refers to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning the right to private and family life. "When delving deeper into the cases, it's the right to private and family life that has been decisive. The Court now establishes that severe consequences of climate change are protected by human rights," says Louise Holck.

Congratulations Cathrine Barklin and DanChurch Aid and thank you for inviting us to contribute to this important publication and for facilitating dialogue on business and human rights in East Africa! Publication can be found here: https://lnkd.in/d_NaCiUw