Kenyasi Number Two (B/A), Dec.
28, – The West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)- Ghana, has held a
second dialogue on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPS)
in the extractive industry with stakeholders within the Newmont Ahafo Mine
catchment area.
Twenty participants comprising
representatives from the Newmont Gold Ghana Limited - Ahafo Mine, the regional
Peace Council, traditional and community youth leaders, civil society
organisations, the Police, women groups and the media attended.
The one-day event was to review
the threats identified in the last dialogue and to identify the current ones to
design strategies to mitigate them.
Mr. Albert Yelyang, the National
Network Coordinator of WANEP-Ghana made this known in an interview with the
Ghana News Agency (GNA), after the programme on Monday, at Kenyasi Number Two
in the Asutifi North District of Brong-Ahafo Region.
Mr. Yelyang said the VPS project
is being implemented by WANEP-Ghana, in six communities with financial support
by The Fund For Peace (FFP), based in the United State of America as an
international partner.
The communities, he mentioned are
Kenyasi and Obuasi in the Ashanti Region, Tarkwa and six other coastal
districts in the Western Region, Keta in the Volta Region and Talensi District
in the Upper East Region.
The project is complementing the
efforts of Government in the implementation of the VPS in the mining and oil
and gas affected communities in the country, Mr. Yelyang said.
He said many concerns were raised
but emphasised that the key and outstanding issue was the unemployment still
existing in the mining communities, especially employment of the youth in the
communities.
Mr. Yelyang stressed the need for
the local youth and opinion leaders to continue discussing the various
grievances related to unemployment, poverty and engagement of public and
private securities by the companies.
He hoped there would not be
negative fallouts like escalation of tensions and demonstrations arising out of
their grievances and concerns.
Mr. Yelyang urged that the mining
companies should also continue to enhance the capacities of both the public and
private security personnel they engage, so that their presence and quest to
ensure law and order does not escalate volatile situations.
Established in 2000, the VPS is a
multi-stakeholder initiative (MSI) involving government, companies, and
non-governmental organisations that promote implementation of a set of
principles that guide oil, gas and mining companies on providing security for
their operations in a manner that respects human rights.
Specifically, the Voluntary
Principles guide companies in conducting a comprehensive human rights risk
assessment in their engagement with public and private security providers to
ensure human rights are respected in the protection of company facilities and
premises.
The VPS implementation has become
necessary because, while the duty to protect human rights rests with
governments, businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights as outlined
in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, by acting with due
diligence to avoid harming people and addressing adverse impacts with which
they are involved.
Extractive companies often
operate in complex environments with little guidance on the ground on how to
observe their human rights responsibilities.
The VPS thus helps companies to
identify human rights risks and take meaningful steps to address those risks in
a manner that helps to ensure respect for human rights in their operations.
GNA
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