African Communities Call for a Binding Treaty That Ends Corporate Impunity
Picture Credit: Tom Page licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
On 28 and 29 May 2025, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), and the Alternative Information & Development Centre (AIDC) co-hosted the 7th Annual Regional Binding Treaty Indaba in Johannesburg.
The event brought together mining-affected communities, civil society groups, African state representatives, academics, and national human rights institutions. It formed part of a growing regional dialogue on the urgent need for a binding business and human rights treaty.
The message from the Indaba was loud and clear: corporate impunity must end. For decades, if not centuries, African communities have endured the devastating impacts of corporate abuse, especially in the extractive sector. Mining operations have left behind degraded environments, fractured communities, and “ghost towns” such as Blyvooruitzicht, where a gold mine shut down overnight, leaving devastation in its wake.
Affected communities are generally left with little legal recourse, hindered by jurisdictional hurdles, legal loopholes, and a lack of political will that prevents justice. Even now, as governments roll back corporate accountability mechanisms, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the world sees how easily profits are prioritised over people.
There was a strong consensus at the Indaba that voluntary guidelines are no longer adequate. It is ineffective to expect corporations to regulate themselves. What is needed is a binding international treaty that sets enforceable human rights standards, particularly for the protection of land, livelihoods, and the environment, and establishes robust and accessible remedial mechanisms.
Community activists reminded us that the treaty’s content is only part of the overall process matters just as much. They underscored the numerous barriers to meaningful participation in international negotiations, including visa costs, language constraints, and exclusionary diplomatic processes. For the treaty to be just and effective, it must centre the voices of those most affected. It must reflect African realities and be rooted in African-led solutions.
Alongside the global treaty process, communities and organisations are also renewing calls for the implementation of the African Commission’s resolution on Business and Human Rights. A regional treaty could go further in addressing the continent’s unique challenges by establishing Africa-specific legal norms and providing more accessible, contextually tailored mechanisms for justice.
“The binding treaty must deliver real remedies, accountability, and justice. To achieve this, it must be shaped by those who have paid the price of unchecked corporate power for far too long.”
The Indaba also underscored that corporate harm extends far beyond the mining sector. Emerging industries, such as big tech, pose new threats to human rights defenders and vulnerable communities. From digital surveillance and data exploitation to displacement through land grabs and extractive projects, corporate power is expanding while regulation lags behind.
This is why any treaty, whether at the UN or regional level, must be intersectional. It must prioritise the rights of women, children, indigenous peoples, LGBTQIA+ communities, the elderly, and those most affected by climate change. The struggle for corporate accountability is inseparable from the fight for climate justice, both must be addressed together.
The 7th Annual Binding Treaty Indaba was a powerful reminder of the pain that communities continue to carry and the strength they still hold. Despite arrests, forced relocations, and threats from private security, communities continue to mobilise, resist, and speak out. Their stories are not just anecdotes; they are evidence of systemic injustice. They must not be ignored: not by governments, corporations, or those drafting international law.
As we head toward the thematic inter-sessional consultations this June and the 11th session of the UN treaty negotiations in October 2025 in Geneva, the continent must be ready, not just to attend but to lead. The binding treaty must deliver real remedies, accountability, and justice. To achieve this, it must be shaped by those who have paid the price of unchecked corporate power for far too long.
