The Feasibility of Implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in the Extractive Industry in Nigeria
Publisher: Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy
Author(s): Oyeniyi Abe
Date: 2016
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Nigeria
Extractive resource governance has been a challenging task for resource-rich countries in Africa. It has fuelled civil wars, ethnic clashes and underdevelopment in this region. This has turned the so-called resource wealth into resource curse. To address this particularly nauseating challenge, the international community came together to adopt the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs). Polarised debate on whether the GPs should be binding or voluntary has slowed down the effective implementation of the Principles. This article argues that while the GPs have been the latest attempt at regulating multinational companies (MNCs), greater emphasis should be placed on the readiness of states to domesticate the Principles. To achieve this, the paper explores various approaches through which the GPs can be crafted into national legislation.