Foreword by Commissioner Solomon A. Dersso, Chairperson of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Human Rights and Environment in Africa I. Introduction The extractive industry is a sector that has come to play an increasingly significant role in the economies of a growing number of African countries. Despite its potential and, at times, actual contribution to improved living conditions of citizens, the extractive industries in many parts of the continent is fraught with major issues impacting on the environment and on the wellbeing of people living in their areas of operation. The lack of, or weak national regulatory regimes governing the role of the industry on the continent, as well as the sector’s inadequate observance of human and peoples’ rights and environmental and transparency standards have meant that the operations of extractive industries often result in various human and peoples’ rights issues. These human rights abuses include dispossession of land and accompanying displacement of people in the areas of new discoveries of gas, oil and minerals, weak or poorly beneficial terms of concession, environmental degradation affecting the livelihood and health of people living adjacent to these areas, violation of labour rights, lack of transparency about and egregious abuse by national actors of revenues received from the extractive industries and evasion of taxes.1 Similarly, as experiences from various parts of the continent show, the extractive industry has contributed to or otherwise prolonged or exacerbated internal armed conflicts.2 While there have been reports of serious human rights abuses and violations in the extractive industries in many parts of Africa where they operate, a comprehensive and systematic continental framework for monitoring, reporting on and availing redress for such abuses has yet to be fully developed. At the same time, the human rights concerns are set to increase as the industry continues to grow and countries on the continent seek to use the potential of the extractive industries as a major driver of development. This actual and potential expansion of the sector adds further impetus to the existing need to put in place the requisite mechanisms for addressing the plethora of human and peoples’ rights issues arising from the operations of the extractive industries in Africa. iv |  African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights