"AU Set On Making African Businesses More Responsive To Human Rights", 24 March 2017

The responsibility to sanitise the business environment on the African continent, to strike a balance between the needs of businesses and the rights of the people to a fair life and environment, and to offer a better safety net to Africans by making businesses more responsive to human rights has led to the drafting of the African Union Policy on Business and Human Rights...The consideration and validation of the draft of the Policy Framework was the subject of a gathering of over 50 participants comprised of representatives of the African Union (AU) member states, regional economic [communities] (RECs), national human rights commissions, businesses, the media and civil society at the African Union Secretariat in Addis Ababa between March 21 and 22...The newer draft of the ‘soft law’ that has emerged from the validation/consultation process will be presented to the AU Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Justice and Legal Affairs, which would discuss it on May 8 for adoption by the policy organs of the AU, before being finally tabled at the assembly of African Union member states and governments.