The extractive industry and human rights in Africa: Lessons from the past and future directions

Abstract

Although the extractive industry has contributed to the socio-economic development of many African countries, it has also led to incidences of human rights violations in many rural communities. However, the use of an evidence-based approach to search, locate, explore and synthesize the literature systematically in order to understand the nature and pattern of human rights violations within the extractive industry remains limited. Consequently, this study employs the systematic review method to determine the nature and drivers of human rights abuses within the extractive industry in Africa. Of the 791 articles retrieved from the search of the databases, 58 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in evidence synthesis. Based on the thematic analysis conducted on the articles that met the inclusion criteria, we find that human rights abuses tend to be associated with the violation of economic, social, and cultural rights, tensions over land ownership, the loss of livelihood, and community marginalization. We conclude the study with some policy implications and suggest avenues for future research.