UN Global Compact’s 5th ABHR Forum to Assess Business Impact on Environment, Community Rights in Africa

The United Nations Global Compact is preparing to host the fifth edition of its Africa Business and Human Rights Forum (ABHR) in Senegal, a forum that serves as a catalyst for promoting a coherent approach to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

This year’s Africa Business and Human Rights Forum, slated for 29 September-01 October 2026 in Dakar, comes amid a growing recognition of the critical link between corporate activities, environmental integrity, and the fundamental rights of communities across Africa.

Coming under the theme “Realizing the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment through Responsible Business Conduct”, the event provides a unique, collaborative space for governments, businesses, civil society, and affected communities to translate the right to a healthy environment into actionable steps for responsible business conduct.

This year’s African Business and Human Rights Forum builds on the success of the 4th edition in Lusaka, Zambia, which brought together more than 600 participants, from business leaders to governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, national human rights institutions and international partners, to advance the implementation of the UNGPs across Africa.

The Forum, themed “From Commitment to Action: Advancing Remedy, Reparations and Responsible Business Conduct in Africa”, focused on concrete steps to strengthen remedy and reparations frameworks and to promote responsible business conduct in the context of Africa’s evolving economic and regulatory landscape.

“As we mark the fifth anniversary of this regional platform, we recognize the progress made, including the adoption of National Action Plans by Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana,” the United Nations Global Compact said about this year’s Forum in a statement on its website. 

“However, significant challenges remain, with Africa losing an estimated USD 195 billion annually to environmental degradation, illicit financial flows, and unsustainable resource use,” it said.

Key Objectives of the 2026 Forum

The United Nations Global Compact said the 5^th Africa Business and Human Rights Forum will address the following key objectives:

• Review the progress made in advancing the effective implementation of the UNGPs in Africa over the past five years through policy, legislation, and practice developments.

• Assess how business impacts the right to a healthy environment, focusing heavily on safe and sufficient water, a healthy environment, and a safe climate.

• Strengthen corporate accountability and responsible business conduct by promoting integrated human rights and environmental due diligence.

• Advance access to remedy, including the procedural elements of the right to a healthy environment, and identify priority actions to accelerate the implementation of BHR commitments in alignment with Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Core Focus Areas

According to the United Nations Global Compact, the 2026 Forum will address four pivotal areas to advance human rights and sustainable development across the continent. They are:

• Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence: Integrating environmental dimensions to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for adverse impacts resulting from environmental harms.

• Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and Land Rights: Assessing business-related impacts on these essential resources, with special attention to the disproportionate effects on women and vulnerable, marginalized groups.

• Just Transition and Human Rights: Balancing economic development with climate commitments, exploring how Africa—which holds approximately 30 percent of the world’s known critical mineral reserves—can shift toward green economies in a fair and inclusive way.

• Access to Remedy: Advancing effective redress mechanisms for victims of business-related human rights abuses and ensuring the voices of affected stakeholders are centered in decision-making.

Opportunities to Participate

The three-day event will afford participants the opportunity to engage in targeted programming designed to foster collaboration. These programmes include:

• Keynote addresses from African leaders, international actors, and BHR experts offering strategic insights into the current state of play and pathways to solutions.

• Panel discussions, thematic trainings, clinics, and interactive breakout sessions hosted by regional organizations, civil society, and National Human Rights Institutions.

• Showcases featuring exhibitions, book stands, and documentary screenings operating throughout all days of the Forum.

Event Format and Interpretation

This year’s Forum is a hybrid event combining in-person and virtual participation. Sessions will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in French and Portuguese.