E-Financial
Why Central Banks Need to Take Human Rights More Seriously
Many central banks are rethinking their approach to the environmental and social impact of their operations.
According to Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria, this is because their decisions can affect access to housing, healthcare, education, work, to adequate food and water and the security of their pensions.
At the One Planet summit in Paris two years ago, a network of central banks and supervisors was set up with the main focus on climate change. Now with 40 members from five continents, the network is drawn to pay more attention to other environmental and social considerations.
The precise mandates of central banks vary. But one thing they all have in common is responsibility for maintaining price stability. Their primary policy tools for achieving this objective are interest rates, the capital and reserve requirements for banks, and trading debt instruments in financial markets.
Bradlow said that Central banks also act as a lender of last resort to the banking system or more generally to the financial sector.
They regulate and supervise the activities of banks and other financial institutions. They manage the country’s payment system, maintain financial stability and manage the country’s foreign exchange reserves. In some countries, the central bank can be given additional responsibilities such as promoting development finance or financial inclusion.
To fully understand the risk that climate poses to price and financial stability, central banks need to consider how changing weather patterns will affect a number of variables. These include food production, migration patterns, and people’s access to food, water, housing, and jobs, and how these, in turn, influence aggregate demand, credit allocation, inflation and government deficits.
In other words, as I explain in more detail in this article, central bankers are being inexorably pushed to reconsider the relationship between central banking and human rights.
The connections
According to Bradlow, the mandates, powers, and governance arrangements of all central banks are established by law. They must comply with all the applicable law including the constitutional and international legal obligations of their home states. In principle this means that central banks are bound by the international human rights commitments of their sovereigns.
Historically, central banks have been able to avoid dealing with human rights issues. This is because the political leadership determines the price stability goal for the economy and then lets the central bank decide how to meet this inflation objective.
This arrangement suggests that the central bank’s independence is limited to the technical issues relevant to achieving the goal set by the government. In addition, it assumes, at least implicitly, that the social and environmental implications of the country’s monetary and financial goals are the government’s responsibility.
However, in reality central banking is not a purely technical function. For example, the social and environmental impact of its decision to change interest rates will vary depending on how it implements the decision. If the central bank decides to change interest rates through open market operations the social and environmental impacts will depend on which instruments it chooses to trade – and in what proportions. On the other hand, these affects will depend on the decisions of banks if it implements the decision by changing the reserve requirements or the interest rate it charges banks for short term loans.
There are some noteworthy examples. The central banks of Kenya, the Netherlands and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco consider factors such as community development and financial inclusion in their stewardship of their financial systems. And the Dutch central bank now has a mandate to include sustainability in its decision making. The Chinese central bank has been authorised to take climate considerations into account in its monetary decisions.
Central bank operations, therefore, cannot avoid affecting human rights.
The human rights responsibilities
The unavoidable impact of central banking operations on human rights means that central banks have to develop a better understanding of their human rights responsibilities. The applicable law is the starting point. But the relevant law and jurisprudence is unlikely to provide detailed guidance on how central banks should interpret and implement their human rights responsibilities.
A good reference tool for the central bank is the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These principles stipulate that all businesses should have a human rights policy. The policy should be publicly available and should be applicable to all the business’s operations and decision-making.
The Principles also state that businesses should conduct adequate human rights due diligence before and during their decision making and implementation process. This requirement means that they should conduct human rights impact assessments of their proposed operations. They should also take steps to avoid or mitigate the identified adverse human rights impacts.
Central banks will face particular challenges in meeting their human rights responsibilities. Their instrument independence means that their human rights policy will need to be respectful of the central bank’s independence and its mandate.
At the same time, the central bank needs to be cognisant of the fact that its human rights policy may have implications for other state entities and for the country’s political leadership. These considerations complicate but do not render impossible the task of drafting a central bank human rights policy.
Their ability to conduct detailed human rights impact assessments will be complicated by the relative speed and discretion with which they must often operate. This does not, however, make it impossible for them to assess their impact on human rights. Instead, it suggests that central banks need to develop and maintain a sufficiently detailed general and ongoing understanding of the actual impact of their operations on human rights. This is so that they can make informed judgements about the likely effects of their proposed monetary decisions on specific communities.
This disaggregated approach should provide central banks with a detailed and nuanced understanding of how their policies actually affect different sub-groups of their society. By doing this it should enable central banks to determine the true costs and benefits of their policies and actions. This should improve their decision-making.
Conclusion
According to Bradlow this analysis demonstrates three key points. First, it is becoming untenable for central banks to avoid incorporating their human rights impacts into their decision-making and operations. Second, a human rights approach offers central banks a new tool for understanding the true costs and benefits of their operations. Third, central banks can meet their human rights responsibilities without compromising the independence they need to meet their monetary and financial responsibilities.
Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria
Mastercard and TeamApt Ltd., a subsidiary of Moniepoint Inc. and a provider of financial infrastructure and payment solutions, have entered a strategic collaboration to strengthen digital payment capabilities for businesses and financial institutions across Africa.
As part of this collaboration, TeamApt will operate directly on Mastercard’s global payments network as a non-bank acquirer, enhancing its ability to onboard credible and licensed entities to deliver seamless payment acceptance, transaction processing and acquiring services. This will further expand its card acceptance infrastructure, allowing more merchants to accept Mastercard payments across in-store, online and mobile channels.
The collaboration integrates TeamApt’s switching infrastructure with Mastercard’s network to facilitate secure, high-volume transactions across online and in-store channels. With Nigeria being home to more than 40 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and small businesses identifying digital solutions as vital to scaling, according to Mastercard’s 2026 SME Confidence Index, expanding payment acceptance remains an important opportunity for growth.
By combining TeamApt’s deep local market expertise with Mastercard’s global scale, businesses and individuals will benefit from more reliable transactions, stronger security and faster, safer and more accessible digital payment experiences.
“Expanding digital payment acceptance is one of the fastest ways to support small businesses across Africa to compete, grow, and reach more customers. By working with TeamApt, we are equipping MSMEs and informal sector businesses in Nigeria with robust, secure infrastructure to seamlessly process transactions across multiple channels. This collaboration brings more businesses into the digital economy, unlocking vital new opportunities for growth, credit access, and cross-border trade,” said Folasade Femi-Lawal, country manager, West Africa at Mastercard
“This collaboration with Mastercard represents an important step forward in our commitment to removing barriers within the payments ecosystem. For years, TeamApt has focused on building infrastructure that helps financial institutions and businesses grow with confidence. By working closely with Mastercard, we are extending those capabilities, enabling businesses to accept payments more seamlessly and giving users the freedom to transact securely both locally and internationally,” said Dennis Ajalie, Chief Executive Officer of TeamApt.
The collaboration also delivers international value, enabling Mastercard cards supported by TeamApt’s infrastructure to be used across millions of merchant locations worldwide. Customers gain the convenience of secure global payments, while merchants can more easily serve both local and international customers.
A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licensed switching and processing company, TeamApt has, for over a decade, built and operated critical financial infrastructure that powers banks, fintechs and other institutions. The company’s technology supports secure and reliable transaction processing across multiple payment channels, enabling businesses and consumers to participate more easily in the digital economy.
This collaboration further underscores the strength of Moniepoint’s ecosystem. With operations and agent coverage across all 774 local government areas in Nigeria, Moniepoint has established one of the nation’s most extensive financial services networks, positioning the group to drive meaningful scale and adoption of digital payment solutions.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has directed capital market operators to immediately freeze the assets of six individuals and three entities designated as terrorism financiers by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee.
The directive was contained in a circular signed by the SEC management on June 26, 2026, and published on the commission’s website on Wednesday.
The SEC said the Nigeria Sanctions Committee designated the individuals and entities under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022, and subsequently added them to the Nigeria Sanctions List.
The designated individuals are Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma, Muktar Muhammad Adamu and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim.
The three entities are Nine to Nine BDC Ltd, Generation Currency BDC Ltd and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau de Change.
The commission directed all capital market-regulated entities to immediately identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to the designated individuals and entities.
“Immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources in their possession, belonging to the designated individuals and entities and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee,” the commission said.
The SEC also directed operators to report all frozen assets and other actions taken in compliance with the sanctions, including attempted transactions involving the designated individuals and entities.
The commission further instructed capital market operators to file suspicious transaction reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for analysis.
Operators were specifically directed to report “all cases of name matching in financial transactions prior to or after receipt of this Sanctions List” as suspicious transaction reports to the NFIU.
The commission prohibited capital market operators from dealing with the designated individuals and entities and ordered them to maintain continuous monitoring of transactions involving them.
“Take Note that at all times, any unusual or suspicious transactions MUST be promptly reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU),” the SEC said.
The directive takes immediate effect.
The commission warned that failure to comply with the directive would constitute a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, as well as its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Rules and Regulations.
“Such violation would attract appropriate regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations, or revocation of registration,” the SEC said.
The commission said Hammajam was listed on June 18 for alleged involvement in terrorism financing and support for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
It said Usman was designated for allegedly providing material support to a designated terrorist organisation through repeated financial transactions, while Ibrahim was listed over alleged involvement in terrorism financing and membership of ISWAP.
According to the SEC, Chiroma was allegedly involved in terrorism financing through the use of bureau de change and related corporate entities to facilitate the movement of funds linked to terrorist activities.
The commission said Adamu was listed on June 15 for allegedly providing financial support and facilitating transactions linked to the financing network of the ISWAP Okene cell.
Ogirima Ibrahim, according to the SEC, was listed on June 18 for allegedly providing material and financial support to the ISWAP Kogi cell.
The three bureau de change companies were also listed on June 15 over their alleged involvement in facilitating or channelling funds connected to the ISWAP Okene financing network.
The SEC said the directive formed part of broader measures by Nigerian and international authorities to disrupt suspected terrorism-financing networks.
On June 23, the United States announced sanctions against three individuals and six entities allegedly linked to Islamic State financing, including three bureau de change operators.
Two days later, the Central Bank of Nigeria also directed banks to freeze accounts belonging to customers linked to terrorism financing.
The latest SEC directive reinforces the regulatory focus on preventing Nigeria’s capital market and financial system from being exploited to finance terrorism and other illicit activities.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an urgent directive requiring all capital market-regulated entities (CMREs) to immediately subscribe to Nigeria’s Sanctions (NigSac) Alerts system.
Effective immediately, failure to comply with this, or other AML/CFT regulations, may result in severe fines, suspension of operations, or revocation of registration.
This follows fresh designations by both local and international authorities of individuals and Bureau de Change operators for alleged direct involvement in terrorism financing and material support to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The directive, according to three circulars issued by the apex capital market regulator, requires a mandatory compliance measure with threats of fines, operational suspension, or outright registration revocation for non-compliance.
The directive, pursuant to the implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) statements on high-risk jurisdictions, signals an escalation in Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime.
The SEC’s broader circular implementing FATF high-risk jurisdiction statements reflects Nigeria’s heightened exposure to international scrutiny. SEC, in line with directives from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), now requires CMREs to terminate all correspondent banking relationships with listed high-risk jurisdictions, business entities and individuals.
“In line with the provisions of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) has designated six (6) Individuals and three (3) Entities as terrorist financiers and subsequently added them to the Nigeria Sanctions List,” SEC stated in circular to all market operators.
The circular mandated all capital market regulated entities and individuals to do the following:
“Immediately, identify and freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets, and any other economic resources belonging to the designated persons and entities in their possession and report same to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee;
“Report to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Sanctions Committee any assets frozen or actions taken in compliance with the designation, including attempted transactions;
“Immediately file a suspicious transactions report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for further analysis on the financial activities;
“Report as a suspicious transactions report to the NFIU, all cases of name matching in financial transactions prior to or after receipt of this Sanctions List;
“Subsequently prohibit dealings with the designated persons and entities; and continue to check for transactions relating to the designated persons and entities and report findings to the Nigeria Sanctions Committee through [email protected]”, SEC stated.
“Take Note that at all times, any unusual or suspicious transactions shall be promptly reported to the NFIU,” SEC warned.
According to the capital market apex regulator, the circular takes immediate effect and failure to comply with the directives constitutes a violation of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and the SEC AML/CFT Rules and Regulations and such failure would attract appropriate regulatory sanctions, including fines, suspension of operations, or revocation of registration.
The directive implies that capital market operators should immediately audit their AML/CFT technology stacks to ensure NigSac Alerts subscription and automated flagging capability.
CMREs are required to file suspicious transactions reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for any name matching with designated individuals and entities, whether such matches occur pre- or post-transaction.
The obligation extends to reporting all funds frozen and actions taken in compliance with designations to the NSC Secretariat via [email protected].
The designations also create secondary compliance obligations: CMREs must now maintain watchlists that incorporate designations from both the NSC and US Treasury, as regulatory expectations implicitly track international sanctions coordination.
For institutional investors and fund managers, this translates to enhanced due diligence on counterparty relationships, particularly where transactions flow through informal financial infrastructure or jurisdictions flagged under FATF increased monitoring status.
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