Monrovia- With ideal purpose to document harmful and maltreatment of people advocating for their environment and climax, Frontline Grassroots Defenders and activists from across the 16 West African States organized a training exercise for data collectors from within the region.
By Jahiem T. Tumu
The workshop, which was attended by Global Witness and Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), trained defenders the required knowledge, skills, and tools to effectively monitor, document, and address the acute under-reporting of abuses against frontline defenders in indigenous communities.
The three-day exercise, organized by Green Advocates International and the Mano River Union Civil Society Natural Resources Rights Governance Platform, a network of land and environmental defenders across West Africa, aimed to ensure that reprisal attacks against defenders are amicably addressed by government.
According to Global Witness report in 2019, 212 land and environmental defenders were murdered and the 2022 report disclosed 177 deaths. The institution described the 2019 report as the highest number of killings recorded since the Paris Agreement was signed on 12 December 2015.
The report indicated that many people, most of whom that had protected their land for generations, are left in the firing line of unaccounted companies, state security forces and contract killers, emphasizing that a lack of attention to the problem has fed endemic levels of impunity, with investigation into killings rare and even fewer prosecution.
Peter Quaqua, Coordinator of Green Advocate, indicated that environmental defenders have suffered from decades of abuse from their own governments and transnational corporations operating in the region with very little or no attention drawn to their situation.
Quaqua disclosed that the project is an attempt to ensure African story and raising the profile of little-known defenders working to protect the planet.
Country Representative Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Christian Mukosa, in special remarks, said that the UN agency underscores its longstanding commitment to promoting, protecting, and ensuring human rights in Liberia.
Mimosa highlighted the multifaceted nature of human rights, extending beyond political crises to encompass economic, social protection, and developmental issues, emphasizing that the interconnectedness of these issues is crucial for achieving the 2030 agenda and combating poverty.
Mukosa reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to promoting a holistic human rights agenda in Liberia, emphasizing the need for accurate and meaningful data to guide policy and decision-making.
His statement aimed to underscore the integral role that human rights play in fostering sustainable development and addressing pressing challenges faced by Liberia and the broader region.
He emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to data collection, while cautioning the potential challenges in its usage.
Mukosa said that a human-rights-based approach goes beyond government and population, focusing on the protection and promotion of rights and obligations.
Said Mukosa, “So, getting data is very important, but the quality of the data is also something that we approach. We also need to make sure those organizations and those who work at the accounting level are well qualified to have data that has integrity and quality, as well as data that can serve.”
“I feel proud, and it was something timely, not only considering the synergy we held in the coastal part of the continent but also the issue we are hearing in many countries around Liberia in terms of the protection of human rights. So, in itself, when I speak about data, it is very important, but the way we use data can be a problem,” he said
Addressing the occasion, Global Witness acting Campaign Lead of the Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign, Madam Rachel Cox, described the data collection project for violence against defenders across the west-African sub region is an ambitious and dedication that come from Green Advocate and MRU staff.
She indicted that over the years, Global Witness has reported and produced attacks against people defending their communities, a result which showed a total of 1,910 defenders killed globally.
According to her, Global Witness, understands the vital role that data plays in the work and the protection of defenders worldwide.
“The aims of our campaign are to prevent the broad range of threats and attacks that land and environmental defenders and their communities face- often after speaking out against extractive business and state practices that harm fundamental human rights, land rights and destroy the environment, “ she said
She emphasized, “Our goal is to expose the trends and the root causes behind the attacks: draw attention to the work that defenders do, the threats that they face and then to argue for change.”
She added, “However, there are challenges with this approach-many of which stem from our methodologies, collection and communication of data on attacks. The ideas and ambition of the West African directory is to address the gaps in global datasets, to challenge the narrative and to highlight the real stories of defenders in the region Working to protect their human rights.”
Also addressing, ECOWAS Resident Representative Madam Josephine Nkrumah said data collection is an existential matter which one cannot interplay or underestimate its importance.
She maintained accurate data collection provides the requisite information that enables groups, person and nation to put in place adequate policy, make adequate predictions, in order to safeguard and continue to build sustainable nation and resistant people in the global space.
She stressed that ECOWAS is part of deepened integration, stating that studying together and understanding the methods of data collection and building expertise would enable the sub-region body and the region to provide the kind of policies, strategy, action plans and that draft down through the member states.
Said Madam Nkrumah, “We look forward to receiving reports of this meeting and therefore this enable ECOWAS to also begin look into the most focus manner on how we use the information that we gather through data collection in drafting polices that builds a resistance sub-region and also to understand that when we talk about grassroots defend is really about holding ownership about our future.”
“It is really about taking the bull by the horn and being the first line person that begin to develop our defend mechanism, our defend strategy. I want us to control issues that are within our domain to control, “. she added.
Also commenting, the Civil Freedom and Human Right Defenders (HRDs)- Researcher and Database Coordinator of (BHRRC), Madam Hannah Matthews, acknowledged the difficulty and challenges in term of reporting in Africa, specifically West Africa.
Madam Matthews revealed that (BHRRC) would ensure indigenous people have environmental defenders in different parts of the world which pressurize actors in making sure that these defenders are protected despite the risk they are faced in the protection of the land and environment.
“I am really hoping this even can be as informal as possible, and we can share and save space, we can talk about what is going well for us and what is perhaps has been challenging,” she said.
“When we are face with states that are not collecting data at all, it is really like a high gap in term of data collections. On the governmental level is a hugely important that we as civil society fall in that gap and push for systemic change,” she stated.