Local perspectives on human rights abuses within Ghana's extractive industries

Abstract

This paper uses local communities’ experiences and perceptions of human rights violations to examine the United Nation's (UN's) "Protect, Respect and Remedy"(PRR) Framework for Business and Human Rights in Ghana's extractive industries. Through a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with key actors, the research reveals that awareness of the PRR framework in local communities is low, and the extent to which the framework has resulted in better human rights outcomes for community members in extractive sites remains limited. By presenting empirical evidence of human rights violations in both the oil and gas, and the mining communities in Ghana's Western region, the study underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive action to address systemic challenges driving human rights violations, and the need to safeguard the rights and well-being of vulnerable populations affected by natural resources extraction. The article concludes by considering the theoretical and policy implications of its findings and proposes possible strategies to limit human rights abuses within the extractive industries in developing countries.