Compiled by Batanai Mutasa

Young people participating in the Youth Initiative for Corporate Accountability (YICA) have pledged to revive their advocacy efforts focusing on human rights, transparency, and accountability in the corporate sector. This commitment was made during a two-day training workshop organized by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), aimed at empowering youth to engage effectively with corporate sustainability issues.

Driven by young members from Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe who are determined to see the significant mineral wealth of their countries drive development, the Youth Initiative for Corporate Accountability advocates for a responsible extractive sector that prioritizes human rights and the best interests of communities, aiming to create long-term social, environmental, economic, and sustainable value.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) emphasizes that business activities can significantly impact the lives of millions worldwide, serving as a powerful driver of sustainable development and providing access to social and economic opportunities. However, UNDP also highlights that these enterprises can infringe on human rights, often affecting the most vulnerable populations.

Recognizing that youth are among the most vulnerable in society, ZELA convened the training to stress the responsibility of companies to identify, prevent, and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts within their operations and supply chains. This training also offered youth advocates frameworks to promote greater corporate accountability, transparency, and sustainability in the context of emerging national and global trends.

During the workshop, YICA members were made aware of the importance of prioritizing business and human rights issues in Africa. Case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where cobalt mining has been linked to child labor and environmental degradation, alongside examples from the cocoa industry in West Africa, which is notorious for forced labor, highlighted how multinational corporations can be complicit in human rights violations through their supply chains. This underscored the urgent need for accountability mechanisms.

Farai Mutondoro, Coordinator of the Africa Institute for Environmental Law (AIEL), introduced YICA members to the foundational principles of corporate accountability. He outlined key international frameworks such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which assert the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, the duty of states to protect against abuses, and the importance of providing remedies for affected individuals.

Additionally, Mutondoro discussed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which set standards for responsible business conduct in areas such as labor rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption. He also touched on the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD), a legislative framework that mandates companies to identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse impacts on human rights and the environment throughout their operations and supply chains.

Business and Human Rights an Obscure but Crucial Topic

A Google Trends analysis of popular search topics in Zimbabwe for 2024 revealed that business-related issues accounted for 12% of searches, making them the second most researched category, following betting at 72%. Other categories like music, sports, and politics garnered 10%, 5%, and 1% respectively. However, despite the interest in business topics, discussions around business and human rights were notably absent, with the focus leaning more towards business ideas and employment opportunities.

This lack of appetite and interest in holding corporations to account for human rights violations validates the need to increase awareness of these issues in young generations, making it necessary for educators and community leaders to play a vital role in fostering this awareness by incorporating human rights education into school curricula and community programs.

Thus, during the training, it became evident that YICA and similar initiatives that promote corporate accountability need revitalization fill the information gap and cultivate interest around issues of business and human rights.  

“The onus is you to highlight the importance of ethical business practices and the impact they have on society, especially after attending seminars and workshops where you gather important information that could help communities defend themselves from irresponsible business practices,” said ZELA Responsible Investments and Business program lead Obert Bore.

He added that youths were better poised to lead such initiatives as they could leverage technology and social media platforms which provide them with resources and tools to become informed advocates for change.

Inspired by the discussions on how businesses can operate responsibly and contribute positively to the community and motivated by prospects of youth empowerment, the young ambassadors for corporate accountability set out to review the YICA strategy and reclaim their position as business and human rights stalwarts.

The Commitment: