The Emerging Custom of Human Rights-Based Development: A Model Agreement for Successful Exploitation of Lake Albert's Oil Reserves

Abstract

The 2006 discovery of oil reserves beneath Lake Albert on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda has spawned both tension and attempts at cooperative development. History demonstrates that the process of exploiting natural resources is almost inevitably interwoven with violations of the human rights of local populations. This Note catalogs the possible human rights violations that can occur with the development of a natural resource such as oil, and discusses the growing pattern and practice of using human rights-based planning in international development agreements. The author proposes that incorporating human rights-based planning into the development agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda may help to prevent violations of the recognized rights of the population in the Lake Albert region.