About Us.

AfriRIGHTS is a Pan-African Think Tank operating a remote-working modality with staff diversely stationed within the continent and delivering projects and partnerships to ensure that business practices in Africa respect and uphold human rights. Despite advances in the promotion and protection of human rights, Africa, as arguably one of the fastest growing economies in world, is grappling with numerous legislative, regulatory, policy and institutional challenges that hinder the effective realization of business-related human rights. This development has also been accentuated in recent years due to increased awareness and recognition of the role of business in equitable, inclusive and sustainable national development, particularly the need to ensure that businesses adopt rights-centric and responsible profit-making.
AfriRIGHTS is committed to serving as a catalyst in advancing and promoting the interconnectedness of business and human rights across Africa. Through partnership with the United Nations, African Union (AU), regional and sub-regional institutions, national governments and partners, AfriRIGHTS strives to shape an Africa where businesses adopt rights-centric and responsible profit-making practices as a corner stone to sustainable development.
As a Pan-African non-profit organization, AfriRIGHTS depend on the support of a wide range of partners who share in the commitment to promoting respect for human rights in the context of business practices. They include international organizations, governments, private foundations and businesses. Importantly, any funding received from businesses must be unconditional and must respect the independence and integrity of AfriRIGHTS’ work.
AfriRIGHTS is registered in the United Kingdom as a company Limited by Guarantee and in several other African countries to further strengthen its continental presence.

Strategy

Through gender-sensitive analysis, research, publications, and evidence-based programming, AfriRIGHTS seeks to drive transformative change across the continent by aligning business operations with human rights principles. This is achieved through upstream interventions targeted at influencing laws, policies, and practices at the Africa Union and its institutions, at the sub-regional level through engagement with Regional Economic Communities, and at national level through collaborations with national human rights institutions.

Core Focus

AfriRIGHTS focuses on addressing the normative and practice-oriented barriers to sustainable development, particularly those confronted by right holders in the context of businesses. Drawing on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the African Union (AU) frameworks on business-related human rights, including the adoption and operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), AfriRIGHTS works to shape human rights-centric business laws, policies and practices in Africa across interlinked and mutually reinforcing areas.