Enforcing the corporate responsibility to protect human rights in the Nigerian oil and gas industry
Corporate responsibility to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) emerged as a global standard to hold businesses worldwide accountable for human rights violations. This is due to potential risks and adverse human rights impacts of business operations. However, the enforcement of such responsibility, particularly against multinational oil and gas companies' (MNOCs'), has been a significant challenge in Nigeria. The Niger Delta people who live in the oil-producing communities continue to have their environmental rights violated because of the widespread pollution caused by gas flares and oil spills that have damaged the natural environment. Government efforts to enforce laws ensuring MNOCs adhere to international human rights standards and use good oilfield norms have not yielded significant results. Against this background, the study investigates the role of the UNGP in enhancing the enforcement of MNOCs' responsibility to respect human rights in the Niger Delta Nigeria, aiming to offer a rightbased enforcement strategy for human rights enforcement institutions in Nigeria. The study adopts the doctrinal methodology. It analyses and interprets primary legal sources: Constitutions, Statutes, case law, primary sources of international law, as well as scholarly opinions, and journal articles gathered from authoritative secondary legal sources. Findings show that the inability to enforce MNOCs' responsibility to respect human rights is due to state actors' poor commitment towards practical implementation of the UNGP. Hence implementing and enforcing the UNGP effectively can advance MNOCs' respect for the human rights of the Niger Delta people in Nigeria.
Nigeria, Human rights, Environmental rights, Enforcement, Corporate responsibility, Respect, Oil and gas industry, United Nations Guiding Principle on business and human rights (UNGP), Corporate social responsibility, Multinational oil and gas companies (MNOCs)
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