By Paul Williams Recent onshore divestments by oil multinationals are shortchanging host communities in the Niger Delta and increasing risks for human rights defenders (HRDs) operating in the region. This was part of the highlights at the “Extractive Host Communities and Human Rights Defenders Training Workshop” organised by the African Law Foundation (AfriLaw) in Port Harcourt on Thursday. The one-day session was organised in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigeria Working Group on the VPs (NWGPs) and Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI), with funding support from the Zero Tolerance Initiative (ZTI) and True Cost Initiative (TCI), USA. It brought together community leaders, journalists and civil society actors from extractive host communities across the region, and urged proactive risk management and stronger remediation measures for communities and human rights defenders. AfriLaw’s Executive Director, Chinwike Okereke Esq., said, “Divestment is not automatic. It’s a process, and there’s a transfer of liabilities and assets. In all those processes, the Niger Delta communities were not even given the chance to have a say or contribute. The community was neglected.” Okereke described recent exits by Shell and other oil firms as “irresponsible” and criticised federal approval of deals that ignored legacy environmental damage and failed to secure remedies for affected people. He added, “For them to approve that without the interest of the communities is negligence of their duty.” Okereke urged federal agencies and the NHRC to press for remediation and compensation where corporate activities have caused environmental and social harm. “The people need justice, and justice is about remedy for the people,” he said. AfriLaw’s Executive Director noted that the programme combines legal awareness with practical guidance so frontline actors can reduce escalation during environmental and rights crises and pursue redress more effectively. He described the training as “vital to empower and promote the protection of human rights defenders in the extractive sector of Nigeria using the VPI and UNGPs guidance tools.” Okereke said Port Harcourt is the fifth stop in a nine-state programme, adding that the regional rollout will continue. He, however, stressed the need for consultative divestment processes, stronger mechanisms to ensure proper transfer of liabilities and company-funded remediation for legacy harms. He urged civil society, media and national institutions to work together so defenders can carry out their work without fear of reprisal. Executive Director of Access Africa for Rights and Development Initiative, Dr. David Vareba, warned that shrinking civic space and weak safeguards leave HRDs exposed to reprisals. Vareba said, “Those who suffer the outcomes of this civic space that is being shrunk are human rights defenders, because they are the ones who are out there to defend the rights of the common people.” He further cited oil spills, alleged land-grabbing and episodes of police brutality where defenders are often targeted after mobilising on behalf of communities. Vareba said that to change the narrative, trainers at the workshop introduced participants to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, an international framework first issued in 2000, and emphasised practical skills such as risk analysis, stakeholder mapping, documentation and community engagement. He noted that “Human rights defenders ought to analyse risk ahead and then proactively resolve what will lead to those human rights violations,” while arguing that these defenders often operate reactively and can be manipulated through bribery of community leaders or capture of regulators if they lack tools to anticipate threats. NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, described the workshop as a way to strengthen collaboration between defenders and state institutions and to make complaint mechanisms more accessible. Ojukwu, represented by NHRC’s Rivers State Coordinator, Chinwe Okoroji, told participants, “Your being here today reflects a shared dedication to strengthening collaboration, deepening accountability, and ensuring that the principles of human dignity, justice, and equality are upheld in our society.” He highlighted workshop sessions on who qualifies as a human rights defender, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the NHRC’s complaint procedures. He stressed that “The training is aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of individuals, actors, media, CSOs by equipping them with the right techniques of defending their rights, seeking redress on disputes relating to human rights violations.” He urged participants to use the commission’s channels to bring forward documented cases of environmental and social harm. One of the participants, Alice Onukwugha, commended AfriLaw for organising the training. She said it afforded participants the opportunity to understand the UNGPs and Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security and how to deploy these to protect human rights defenders.
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