Foreign corporations operating in Uganda’s extraction and infrastructural sector can be sued successfully for human rights violations and international crimes in their home jurisdictions. Profit motives should not override respect for human rights and legal liability. For Western investors, aligning strict compliance with business objectives is no longer optional. It is the cost of staying in business.
The race to access and operate Uganda’s natural resources often tempts companies into high-risk conduct. Common issues include bribing government and local officials, employing child labor, destroying the environment to clear land, land grabbing, relying on state security forces, mismanagement of Project Affected Persons relocation process.
The consequences are severe and global.
Many foreign firms assume local victims lack the capacity to gather evidence or litigate in the company’s home country. However, International NGOs frequently partner with Ugandan civil society; to support local victims to Document abuses during exploration, extraction, and operations, to train local communities in evidence collection, to organize local victims for transnational litigation in the corporation’s mother country under laws like the UK Modern Slavery Act, French Duty of Vigilance Law, and US Alien Tort Statute.
Western Courts are increasingly holding parent companies accountable for their overseas actions most especially in the third world where it can be difficult for victims to lodge complaints or where domestic legal systems may not be positioned to prosecute these complaints.
Between 2013 and 2014, Lafarge disguised opaque payments to armed groups as security costs and raw material purchases to secure safe passage for employees and operations at its Jalabiya Plant.
Lafarge paid approximately $6.5 million to armed groups including ISIS and Al-Nusra Front in Syria to secure safe passage and raw materials. International NGO Sherpa on behalf of Syrian victims filed complaint in a Paris Court against Lafarge conduct arguing that Lafarge Syrian employees were exposed to warn torn conditions notably murder and kidnap due to Lafarge’s decision to continue making profits during a serious war conflict.
Paris Court found the company liable and was fined $1.3 million, and the CEO plus several executives received prison sentences of 3–6 years for financing terrorism.
In 2001 eleven Indonesian villagers assisted by International Rights Advocates filed a suit against ExxonMobil in a US Court for murder, torture, kidnapping, sexual assault among other human rights violations committed by Indonesian Government forces guarding ExxonMobil oil sites. ExxonMobil later agreed liability and settled in 2023 over these allegations.
Before breaking ground in Uganda, western companies must adopt the following safe guards;
- Reject unlawful Government support:
Do not accept security arrangements that enable human abuses or commission crimes. Where security is needed, distance operations from state forces and use vetted private actors. - Audit external relations.
Map all supply and support structures to ensure no arrangement facilitates bribery, forced eviction, child labor, or environmental damage. Legally bind all local contractors and service providers to international human rights standards. - Invest in robust compliance.
Engage proven Ugandan legal and ESG providers to design operational manuals. Hire a dedicated, independent compliance team with authority to halt operations if risks arise. Compliance must report independently, not only to operations. - Pre-plan activity maps.
With local experts to design strategies that prevent environmental degradation, land conflicts, and human rights risks. Align plans with Uganda’s Constitution, Land Act, National Environment Act, and Employment Act. - Conduct thorough inductions.
Before operations start, rigorously train all employees and contractors on conduct that triggers criminal liability; bribery under Uganda’s Anti-Corruption Act, child labor, illegal land acquisition, and excessive use of force. Make clear that “orders from above” is not a defense.
Profit and Rights can thrive together. Respecting human rights and adhering to the law protects western Corporations’ bottom line, preserves its social license to operate, and shields its leadership from prosecution.
Western corporations involved in extraction and infrastructural development in Uganda must demonstrate that ethical business practices and profitable ventures are not in conflict. They should embed robust compliance systems, train their people on legal risks, and constantly remember that international watchdogs can hold multinationals accountable in their home countries.
