Supporting Civil Society under Pressure - Lessons from Natural Resource Exploitation

"The concept of «shrinking space» has been put forward to capture more fully the wide range of pressures and restrictions experienced by civil society. These pressures include physical harassment, as well as initiation of criminal investigations, surveillance, defamation, burdensome registration requirements for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), stricter regulation of foreign funding for NGOs, restriction of demonstrations, and the more general exclusion of civil society."

This paper discusses research designed to "uncover common patterns and dynamics of restrictions on and coping strategies adopted by civil society actors in the specific context of natural resource exploitation....It draws on case studies in India, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa based on desk-research and interviews with communities and organizations. After highlighting the economic context and legal framework behind the growing number of natural resource projects, the paper briefly sketches some common patterns of restrictions, as well the strengths and limits of prevalent response strategies. 

The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, recognise that sustainable development involves not only economic growth, but also social inclusion and environmental protection. However, the absence of legal frameworks leads to land conflicts, escalated by actions and policies charted on page 7 of this paper, including physical harassment, criminalisation, administrative restriction, stigmatisation, and pressure on spaces of dialogue. Responses to these are described, including "international accompaniment of people-at-risk, activities on the basis of the UN Declaration and EU [European Union] Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, and national efforts such as the Mexican governmental «panic button», which those under threat can carry with them and press in an emergency to get police assistance." The four categories of strategies are: "legal support, advocacy, emergency measures, and public campaigns."

Advocacy might include addressing representatives of foreign governments and the UN, as well as delegations, and can raise issues and highlight the pressure on civil society representatives. However, there must be sufficient leverage from these resources to change company, government, or local behaviours.

Public campaigns include "urgent appeals to UN mechanisms, calling upon governments, using the media, or highlighting the important work by specific individuals through awards." These can give individuals at risk a route to legitimacy and possible reduction of threat of violence, but they "rarely address the root causes of civil society engagement and restrictions. They do not include enough proactive and preventative support measures to break the vicious circle of recurring threats and restrictions."

"Consultations are one of the primary tools for public participation in natural resource projects to achieve a balance between national economic policies and local visions for development. For example, public consultation procedures are part of environmental and social impact assessments to be carried out before extractive industry projects are approved and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) recognizes consultation rights for indigenous people, in recognition of historic injustices and the special relationship they maintain with their territory." However, terms of consultation must be by prior agreement. These can be contentious. In addition, consultations must be begun with adequate information, with neutral parties present, and with reasonable logistics and protections for all parties to freely attend.  

The paper concludes by naming the companies, their home states, and the states where resource extraction is located as the parties that should play "an active role in setting expectations" regarding information and consultation with civil society throughout projects in order to assess environmental and social impact, including mechanisms for dispute resolution. It calls for "an analysis of the relation between community exclusion from decision-making and subsequent attacks and focuses on consultation procedures, which are thought to enable public participation....Restricting civil society’s engagement and denying the political participation of civil society in decision-making processes about natural resource governance will hinder efforts to build sustainable and just societies."