- Managed the PSO Funds provided by Aim for Human Rights (the Netherlands) for distribution to project organizations towards enhancing their capacity to use and promote HRCA tools and raise awareness about human rights and social impact among both civil society organizations and the private sector. This involved evaluating proposals from project organizations, distributing funds and monitoring and evaluating projects activities and impact of the investments.
- Acted as the Africa Adviser to Harvard University’s BASESwiki (Business and Society Exploring Solutions) on-line collaborative platform project.
- Member of the Reference Group that advised the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights (Professor John Ruggie of Harvard Kennedy School of Governance) during the development of the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2009 – 2011).
Human Rights & Business Project – South Africa
PACPS South Africa is the new Focal point of the Business and Human Rights Program for South Africa (HRBP-SA), which was formerly hosted by African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC) as the secretariat for the initiative (2007–2012).
The Executive Director of PACPS South Africa, Tagbo Agbazue Esq. has been the Convenor for the HRBP-SA (since 2007), and has attained the following key achievements through the platform:
- Developed, maintained and managed a vibrant network of civil society, policymakers, corporations, academia and government champions (including the Minister for Social Welfare, South Africa).
- Achieved convening the first National Business and Human Rights Conference for South Africa, in collaboration with the National Business Initiative; UN Global Compact; South African Human Rights Commission; Office of The Minister for Social Welfare; and UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
- Managed the research and development team that prepared the country risk assessment on human rights and social impact for South Africa, as well as the country’s adaptation (online web and hardcopy versions) of the Human Rights Compliance Assessment (HRCA) in collaboration with Aim for Human Rights (Netherlands) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR).
- Created and managed national road shows and capacity building programs for corporations on business and human rights in South Africa. Also managed training and capacity building programs for civil society and human rights organizations from Southern and Eastern Africa, including the organizations that comprise the Tanzanian Human Rights and Business Project.
Women in Intra-African Trade
Building from the outcomes of the 3rd Arusha Symposium, PACPS and Influence Africa are in the process of producing a Mini Documentary Film Series on Women in Intra-African Trade. This endeavour is geared towards ensuring harmonized commitments on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment within the continent-wide free trade agreement.
The documentary film project will inter alia:
- Articulate the voices of African women in trade and the opinions and experiences of key stakeholders, including government, private sector, trade organizations and civil society;
- examine the challenges and opportunities for achieving gender equality and women empowerment within the AfCFTA context; and
- showcase the current strategies and activities in place to promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment within the AfCFTA;
Business Action Against Corruption – South Africa
PACPS South Africa acts as the National Secretariat for the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) South Africa.
BAAC is an African initiative, which is founded with the view that co-operative alliances are key to combating corruption. Coalitions within political and administrative spheres, as well as those within national and international private and public sectors have the potential to accommodate reforms that help to overcome entrenched interests. The aim of the initiative is to identify and implement “winnable” reforms.
The aim of the BAAC initiative is to tackle corruption in African countries, while supporting growth and improved services for up to 200 million of the continent’s most vulnerable citizens. Each BAAC national programme develops consultative working structures through which nationally defined strategies can be implemented to improve public services, prevailing business trends and standards of leadership behavior. BAAC will also develop continental governance norms and implementation mechanisms, and strengthen capacity. BAAC is formed from previously independent initiatives devised by civil society organizations including businesses and NGOs. Demand led, it has political buy-in from governments, which ensures supply-side impact and improvement of key governance indicators (Capability, Accountability and Responsiveness).
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) launched the US$ 5milliion BAAC programme awarded by the Governance and Transparency Fund of the Department for International Development (DFID). HE Ephraim Inoni, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon along with other senior Pan African officials from the private and public sector inaugurated the programme on the 4th of July 2008 at the G8 Africa Business Forum. BAAC, an extension of the Business Action for Africa initiative that has received great international and domestic support by stressing the importance of African and private sector leadership in delivering practical results to reduce corruption.