State Reporting Guidelines on Articles 21 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Relating to the Operations of Extractive Industries I. Applicable Articles of the African Charter Article 21 1. All peoples shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. This right shall be exercised in the exclusive interest of the people. In no case shall a people be deprived of it. 2. In case of spoliation the dispossessed people shall have the right to the lawful recovery of its property as well as to an adequate compensation. 3. The free disposal of wealth and natural resources shall be exercised without prejudice to the obligation of promoting international economic cooperation based on mutual respect, equitable exchange and the principles of international law. 4. States parties to the present Charter shall individually and collectively exercise the right to free disposal of their wealth and natural resources with a view to strengthening African unity and solidarity. 5. States parties to the present Charter shall undertake to eliminate all forms of foreign economic exploitation particularly that practiced by international monopolies so as to enable their peoples to fully benefit from the advantages derived from their national resources. Article 24 All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favourable to their development. II. Definitions 1. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) finds that the elaboration of the Guidelines requires the provision of the definitions of key terms. 10 |  African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights