The ACCA Secretariat is pleased to compile this edition of the ACCA newsletter in which our readers can look forward to a summary of the 2018 ACCA GA, a testimonial from a participant at the 2018 ACCA GA, a summary of the African Private Security Governance Observatory meeting, and a briefing on the IGWG meeting in Geneva.
This year marks five years since the official launch of the ACCA. We are proud to announce that the ACCA membership now stands at 123 member organisations from 31 African countries. The ACCA plays an important role for the business and human rights (BHR) community in Africa through providing African CSOs a platform on which they can network, and capacity building sessions around key issues in BHR and community rights. The ACCA’s involvement in key BHR issues such as the Zero Draft Treaty (Draft Treaty) process is acknowledged by both the regional and international BHR community alike.
Following the request from participants at the 2018 ACCA GA, the ACCA Secretariat will endeavour to make the ACCA’s discussion papers on access to remedy and Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) available in an easy to use format, so that they may be used by the ACCA memberships in their daily work. These papers will be used to develop capacity building tools, which seek to empower communities, civil society organisations (CSOs) and grassroots organisations. These tools will aim to raise awareness on FPIC and access to remedy. Through raising awareness of FPIC and access to remedy, the ACCA hopes to achieve a two-fold purpose: (1) build the capacity and improve its membership’s understanding on FPIC and access to remedy, and (2) build the capacity of communities impacted by the activities of business and communities whose lives are threatened by the activities of business. The ACCA would like to call upon its member organisations to get involved in the activities of its Working Groups.
The achievements of the ACCA as a Coalition would not have been possible without the individual efforts from each of its member organisations and broader community, notwithstanding the financial support from our loyal funders. A special vote of thanks goes to: The Ford Foundation, The Open Society Initiative (OSF), The 11th Hour Project, and a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Damian and Koko