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| Mr. Antony Mbandi, Coordinator AMECEA Justice, Peace and Caritas Department |
AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Department is organizing a two-day meeting (16thto 17th June 2015) in collaboration with Uganda Episcopal Conference and Justice and Peace Department of the Archdiocese of Tororo to review the research findings of a study conducted last year in dioceses within Kenya and Uganda conferences.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News, the AMECEA Coordinator of Justice, Peace and Caritas Mr. Antony Mbandi said that the study was necessitated by the need to better understand the experiences of local communities in the mining regions as well as inform the conferences on areas that need to be addressed by the church.
He said the study and the review workshop are being supported by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD); while participants of the review meeting will be drawn from the Dioceses within Kenya and Uganda that are affected by mining.
Mr. Mbandi said, the study entitled “Righting the Injustices in the Extractive Industry”, took place over a period of six months. “Issues that are likely to be discussed comprehensively over the two-day period include: The need to implement robust procedures to consult with local people; decision making, built on pillars of access to information; public participation and access to justice.
According to him this not only gives an opportunity to the public to make informed choices and influence decisions, but also creates a stable and predictable investment for business.
The second thing is about the right to own land: Recognizing the communities in both countries as distinct indigenous peoples with rights to their lands and recognize their land rights over land traditionally occupied and use.
The study will also look into minimum standards in impact assessments: “What do we recognize as minimum standards and how do we entrench this within the mining laws,” he said.
Another thing is to look on how effective are the legislative arms of governments?: There is need for the legislative arm of government to look at Land Acts to make eligible broad social representation in the composition of communal land associations in order to address a major hurdle for registering certificates of customary ownership, which is common in the region. It is also critical for the law makers to stipulate how benefits accrued should be channeled to the local communities.
The role of the Church will be another topic of discussion. He said, The Church and other faith institutions clearly have a sacred role to play in addressing the conflict and injustices to which mining can contribute. They can help communities engage effectively in dialogue and negotiations with governments and companies to ensure communities receive appropriate benefits and they can use their influence to hold companies and governments accountable when things go wrong. “Churches, and in particular the Catholic Church, should take up this responsibility creating the very much needed “bridge” between the communities, the private sector and the government. The question lingers, how this bridge should look like?” he said.
Another issue which Mr. Mbandi pointed out is the Judiciary. “What has been the role of the judiciary and has it increased the helped in reducing the incidences of injustices or increased them through the court processes,” he said.
The last two things will be on Mining Companies and the role of the Communities. On mining Companies, Mr. Mbandi said that they are going to look on the good and bad practices undertaken by the private sector? “How can we engage better for the benefit of the communities?” he said while on the role of communities he said, “Are communities really helpless? Is there a better way to engage with the private sector and the governments especially on the accrued benefits of the industry?”
The review meeting is expected to be graced by the Secretary General of Uganda Episcopal Conference Msgr. Dr. John Baptist Kauta on 16th June 2015 for official opening.
Source: By AMECEA Online News reporter