"AFREWATCH named 2021 recipient of Human Rights and Business Award", 30 Nov 2021

Today, during the annual United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, our foundation is naming AFREWATCH (African Resources Watch), based in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as recipient of the 2021 Human Rights and Business Award.  The award, recognizing “outstanding work by human rights defenders addressing the human rights impacts of business”, is accompanied by a $50,000 grant... AFREWATCH, headquartered in Lubumbashi (southeastern DRC), advocates for the fair, equitable and transparent development of natural resources in Africa for the benefit of all.  It calls on companies and governments to include the needs of local communities in their planning, priorities and operations, and to integrate those communities into the management of natural resources... AFREWATCH has been praised for its high-quality research and advocacy, and its close connection with impacted communities.  The organization has drawn attention to issues including communities displaced without adequate compensation; dangerous and sometimes life-threatening working conditions; child labor; and the pollution of people’s lands, water and air with toxic chemicals that cause harm to health.  In some cases, mining companies have been complicit in, or silent about, killings, torture, rape and other serious abuses against local populations by security forces and armed groups...