Business Rights of Every Citizen Should be Protected, Says CISLAC Director

Business Rights of Every Citizen Should be Protected, Says CISLAC Director

Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa, has said it is expedient for local and international businesses to be protected against human rights abuses within the Nigerian territory:

In a meeting organized by CISLAC from 21 to 27 of July, 2021, at Bolton White Hotel, Abuja, Musa also harped on the need for the rights of host communities to be adequately catered for

The Executive Director of CISLAC, (popularly known as ‘Rafsanjani’) in his welcome address said, ĺ”having previously received your inputs and validation on the draft cohesive Human Rights Due Diligence Document, during the various stakeholders consultative forums we organized, we are here today to officially hand over this draft document to the National Human Rights Commission for possible incorporation into the already existing draft National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP).”

He said “relevant stakeholders have continued to demand appropriate actions and accountability from the government who is signatory to international Charters such as the United Nations Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) that seeks to promote implementation of protection, respect and remedy for human rights abuses/ violations by transactional corporations and business enterprises.”

Speaking further, the CISLAC director said: “There is also a need, citizens across the length and breadth of the country especially, within host communities such as mining communities as well as oil producing communities who seem to be affected the most to rise up and demand that government protects their rights and deal decisively with issues of human rights violations arising from activities of businesses operating within Nigeria.”

He then appreciated various stakeholders and partners for their unflinching support towards the actualization of this goal.

He also expressed his profound gratitude for having the opportunity to speak with distinguished dignitaries.

Tony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of CISLAC, on his part, noted that the organization was working assiduously to ensure that the issues of liability and access to justice, overriding mandatory rule, role of state and society, human rights, etc were properly managed.

Ojukwu who spoke extensively on sustainability in business opined that: “sustainable businesses consider a wide array of environmental, economic, social, and in recent times, human rights factors when making business decisions.

“These organizations monitor the impact of their operations to ensure that their short-term profits don’t turn into long-term liabilities; the goal of a sustainable business strategy is to make a positive impact on at least one of those areas.”

The Executive Secretary observed that the issue of sustainability cannot be overemphasized, noting that is has huge bearing on the success of any business.

The meeting which was titled, “High Level Forum on Sustainable Business and Human Rights Principles,”
was attended by functionaries from the National Assembly, government Institutions, amongst others

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