Explanatory Note to the State Reporting Guidelines on the Contents of the Rights and Obligations under Articles 21 and 24 of the African Charter I Underlying Principles 1. Indivisibility and interdependence – These are underlying principles of the rights to wealth and natural resources and environment.12 The rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 24 of the African Charter are indivisible from and interdependent with the civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights as well as other peoples’ rights enshrined in the African Charter.13 The implementation and the full realization of the rights under these articles depend on and have to be pursued with due regard, as necessary, to all other rights and the duties of persons as provided for in the African Charter.14 2. As outlined by the African Commission in Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC) and Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) v. Nigeria (SERAC case), addressing the rights issues arising from the operations of extractive industries notably those involving Articles 21 and 24 of the Charter requires the use of ‘the diverse rights contained in the African Charter’. In this case, the Commission affirmed that the protection of the rights in Articles 21 and 24 requires an integrated and complementary reading and application of civil and political rights (Articles 2 and 4) and economic, social and cultural rights (Articles 14, 16 and 18). The interdependence of rights also means that the use of natural resources, including when undertaken in the pursuit of national development endeavors, has to be done in an environmentally sustainable way and with due respect to all the civil and political, socio-economic and peoples’ rights of the African Charter. 3. The principle of solidarity - The rights guaranteed under Articles 21 and 24 are also underpinned by the principles of solidarity and the shared interests of individuals, communities and the peoples’ of a State as a whole. The State has, in accordance with the principle of State sovereignty over natural resources, the main responsibility for ensuring natural resources stewardship with, and for the interest of, the population.15 Although natural resources under Article 21 are often localized in a particular region, this State Reporting Guidelines and Principles  | 19