A/69/266
H.
Harmful actions of non-State actors
39. The responsibility of Governments for the protection of human rights and
prevention of violence extends to regulating the activities of non-State actors.
Enterprises and business actors have been involved in violence affecting minorities,
for example, against minority groups which occupy lands or territories that are of
value for agricultural development, natural resource exploitation or national
development projects. Minorities have often found themselves the victims of
intimidation and violence by actors wishing to take control of those lands and
resources. In some cases, national and/or international businesses instigate violence
against minority communities with the complicity or agreement of the Government:
for example, to gain access to the land or resources located where minority
communities live.
40. In Cameroon, visited by the Special Rapporteur in September 2013, an
estimated 300 Mbororo pastoralists were made homeless and evicted from their
ancestral lands in early April 2014 in the locality of Bamenda, when the Catholic
University claimed ownership of their land for the construction of a U niversity
building. The Special Rapporteurs on minority issues and on the rights of
indigenous peoples urged the authorities and the Catholic University to review their
actions and their impact on this community and to seek a settlement. 20
41. On 26 March 2014, Special Rapporteurs issued a press statement 21 when the
local government of Da Nang, Viet Nam, decided to expropriate the land used by
Con Dau village for housing and agriculture, which appeared to be a clear case of
land grabbing for the benefit of private entrepreneurs. Con Dau was built by many
generations of residents who had shaped their culture through the cultivation of rice
and church activities. The parish cemetery, a national cultural heritage site, has been
demolished and removed to a remote area.
42. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate in decisions
concerning them or their region. States are the primary duty bearers with territorial
jurisdiction, including over such third parties as business enterprises, as reflected in
the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 22 Among the measures
adopted to prevent violence against minorities when business actors are involved, it
is essential to legally regulate and closely monitor business activities and to
institutionalize channels for consultation among affected communities, Government
and enterprises at all stages of operational activity. Minorities must be able to raise
their issues and concerns about the impact of business and development activity on
communities. The principle of free, prior and informed consent should be applied to
minorities and their lands and territories.
43. States must fully investigate incidents of violence and, where business actors
prove to be instigators or perpetrators, impose appropriate sa nctions in accordance
with the law, including the termination of contracts and criminal prosecution.
Victims must be adequately and swiftly compensated. As stated by the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and
transnational corporations and other business enterprises ( A/HRC/17/32, para. 5),
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www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14496&LangID=E.
www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14438&LangID=E.
United Nations, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (HR/PUB/11/04). Available
from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.
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