Corporate impunity and the ‘accountability gap’ in Sub-Saharan Africa: is the successful prosecution of corporate involvement in atrocity crimes within reach?

Sammanfattning: Although transnational corporations (hereinafter TNCs) often far outmatch States in terms of resources and influence over the direction of the world economy, they are generally unaccounted for when operating outside the territories in which they are incorporated (hereinafter ‘home States’). This thesis will look specifically at those TNCs that rely on natural resource extraction as their main source of profit. Such TNCs are drawn to States with high levels of natural resources and, perhaps counterintuitively, higher levels of political disorder. Because corporations continue to operate above the law across many resource-rich States, this thesis argues for the domestic use of CCL as the most appropriate mechanism for closing the accountability gap towards ending corporate impunity in Africa. In order for this to be achieved, there must be effective governance regimes based on international cooperation. Although a lofty ambition, it shall be argued that there are underlying frameworks at the international, regional and national levels indicating to the affirmative that closing the accountability gap may be within reach.