Category: Featured

Africa in Context, Episode 1: “Is financial inclusion a human right?”

Mobile money and lending apps have reached millions of young people across Africa who have never had a bank account. In the first episode of the podcast Africa in Context,…

Forest Conservation vs. Indigenous Land Rights in South Africa: A Conflict in Need of Balance

Introduction Forest conservation and biodiversity protection are essential for climate change mitigation and ecological sustainability. However, these objectives frequently conflict with the land tenure rights and livelihoods of Indigenous communities.…

From Waste to Justice: African Grassroots Leadership in Business and Human Rights in Ethiopia

Introduction The global Business and Human Rights (BHR) agenda has gained momentum over the past two decades, driven by international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles 2011 and regional efforts…

African Environmental Constitutionalism as an Innovator in Business and Human Rights

Introduction African environmental constitutionalism derives from the broader concept of environmental constitutionalism, which operates on a spectrum from ‘thin’ to ‘thick’. According to Kotzé, the thin, and arguably more limited,…

African Solutions for African Challenges:  How African Legal Frameworks are Reshaping Business and Human Rights Practice

Introduction African realities require African solutions, and the Business and Human Rights (BHR) discourse is shifting from abstract theoretical frameworks to tangible enforcement mechanisms across the continent.  While global BHR…

The EU-SADC Economic Partnership Agreement and Corporate Accountability: Opportunities and Limitations for Protecting Human Rights

Bridging Trade and Human Rights in Southern Africa The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) States represents a significant milestone in…

Justice Without Business and Human Rights Jurisdiction: The Case of the EACJ as a Regional Judicial-Based Remedy Mechanism

Introduction Pursuant to Article 23 (1) of the EAC Treaty 1999, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) is the primary judicial organ of the East African Community (EAC or…

Building on Nyerere: Rethinking Business and Human Rights through the African Charter and (indigenous) African Perspectives

Starting on Solid Ground Regions across the so-called ‘Global South’ are rich in resources, such as oil, minerals, cobalt, gold and fertile agricultural land, that are scarce elsewhere, making them…

Africa as Norm-Maker: Introducing the BHRJ/ALS Blog Symposium on Business, Human Rights, and African Legal Thought

Setting the Stage The Business and Human Rights (BHR) field has long been dominated by frameworks emanating from the Global North, most notably the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on…

Imagining an “Afrocentric future” of international law: Observations on emerging key features

Introduction: The long-awaited change in the making Following in the footsteps of most recent calls by African legal scholars, in this blog I share my own reflections on what should…