E/C.12/SDN/CO/2 10. The Committee recommends that the State party bring the National Human Rights Commission into compliance with the Paris Principles, guaranteeing its independence and financial autonomy. The Committee also encourages the State party to streamline its human rights machinery to avoid duplication and to achieve a more efficient use of limited resources. The Committee refers the State party to its general comment No. 10 (1998) on the role of national human rights institutions in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights. Rights of land users 11. The Committee is alarmed by the negative impact on the rights of land users, particularly small-scale farmers and agropastoralists, of development projects such as the construction of dams and large-scale leasing of farmland in the country to local or foreign investors, facilitated by the Land Confiscation Law (1930), the Unregistered Land Act (1970), the Land Allocation Act (1990) and the National Investment Encouragement Act (2013). (arts. 1 and 11) 12. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that: (a) Legislative provisions protecting security of tenure recognize customary forms of tenure and take account of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security of 2012; (b) Legislative provisions that allow for expropriation for the “public good” or on the ground that the land is declared as “unused” are not abused nor relied upon by the State party to supply land to private investors, and that courts are empowered to review the decisions taken in this regard by the executive branch of the Government; (c) No land shall be ceded to investors or for development projects without first carrying out a full human rights impact assessment and without first seeking the free, prior and informed consent of the communities who depend on the land for their livelihoods; (d) to redress. Land users who consider that their rights have been violated have access Investment regime 13. The Committee expresses serious concern that the provisions of article 4 of the National Investment Encouragement Act (2013) giving primacy to the Act over any other piece of domestic legislation has a negative impact on the protection of the economic, social and cultural rights afforded by other domestic laws of the State party. (art. 1) 14. The Committee recalls that the rights of investors should in no circumstance undermine the State’s obligations to protect, respect and fulfil the Covenant rights. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure effective protection of the rights holders concerned, such as workers, trade unions members and members of local communities, in its investment regime. Maximum available resources 15. The Committee is concerned that significant revenue gained from the exploitation of natural resources prior to the secession of part of the country has not led to tangible progress in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights for most persons living in the State party. The Committee is also concerned at the poor management of public resources and corruption in the State party and at considerable security and military 3