In a letter made public today, Sherpa, Friends of the Earth France and Avocats sans Frontières call the oil company Perenco S.A out. Our associations denounce the opacity of Perenco group’s organization and operation, as well as the absence of any information on the way the French company takes into account the social and environmental consequences of its activities abroad. While its activities are regularly criticized for their negative impacts on the environment and human rights, the multinational seems to be favoring this opacity, which would allow it to continue operating with impunity.

Au vu des circonstances exceptionnelles qui touchent l’ensemble de la planète, dues à la menace grave et imminente que représente la « pandémie COVID19 » pour la santé et la vie humaines, et sur la base des diverses mesures de prévention prônées par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) et adoptées par de nombreux pays pour en endiguer la propagation (procédures visant à réduire les contacts humains, mesures de mise en quarantaine ou de confinement, etc),.. Le Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux (FTDES) et Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) expriment leurs profondes préoccupations quant au maintien de l’activité dans les industries à forte intensité de main-d’œuvre, notamment le secteur du textile.

ASF has helped create and revitalise networks of observers in the DRC. They are independent, they exist and are managed autonomously by their members. ASF and these networks work together to empower populations impacted by the activities of extractive companies. Today, we invite you to meet its members. They talk about the reasons behind their activism and their daily struggle to defend their communities and their rights.

Annie Masengo speaks to us about her struggles within the Congolese League against Corruption (LICOCO). She tells us about the observations that led her to engage in the fight against corruption, an endemic phenomenon in the natural resource sector, and of the importance of all community members, regardless of gender, being able to make their voices heard.

Avocats Sans Frontières, active in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2002, would not be able to act without its partners. It is for this reason that, today, we wanted to give voice to them. These men and women told us about their everyday life, their realities and their convictions. Through a series of profiles, meet these figures who represent the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace in Boma, the Congolese League against Corruption and the Network of Observers.
Today, Ghislain Lukambo speaks to us about his actions within the Congolese League against Corruption (LICOCO). He tells us about the reasons that led him to engage in the fight against corruption, an endemic phenomenon in the natural resource sector, and of the importance for all community members, regardless of gender, to be able to make their voices heard.

Avocats Sans Frontières, active in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2002, would not be able to act without its partners. It is for this reason that, today, we wanted to give voice to them. These men and women told us about their everyday life, their realities and their convictions. Speaking today is Marceline Nzati, a sister at the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace in Boma (DCJP). She told us about herself, and about the importance for local populations to regain control over the management of natural resources and of the role that women can play in reclaiming these questions.

ASF and I Watch are united in promoting the principles of respect and protection of human rights in the context of the business industry. In this context, on the 26 July 2018, we brought the activities of the Perenco Group in the governorate of Kebili in Tunisia, and their compliance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, to the attention of the French National Contact Point (NCP) of the OECD.

Joining in the celebration of women across the world today, ASF releases its analysis of the progresses and shortcomings in achieving women’s rights in Uganda’s extractive industry context.

For nearly three years, ASF and I Watch have been assisting the involvement and constructive participation of Tunisian citizens in local governance relating to natural resources. A survey of young people’s views was carried out in the mining regions of Tataouine and Medenine. Analysis of the results reveals their lack of trust in political institutions in the run-up to the municipal elections that took place on 6 May.

Excellent news: ASF has just been granted significant funding for five years by the Belgian DGD (Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid). This aid will be used for projects supporting justice in five countries: Burundi, Indonesia, Morocco, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This also represents ASF’s first project in Indonesia.