Regaining state power over TNCs: UN negotiates treaty

The UN Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEIGWG) on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights kicks off its third session this week amid wide mobilization. With two successful sessions behind it, negotiations will now get more detailed and concrete on the contents of the treaty. More than 300 human rights advocates will be following and feeding into the discussions to ensure the conclusion of the week leads to a draft of the treaty, to be negotiated in 2018.

Appalling impunity, women disproportionately affected

The previous two sessions (2015 & 2016) allowed a rich debate and contributed to the identification of a common ground for further progress in the elaboration of the treaty:  the primary obligation of States is to protect people’s rights, including extraterritorially, over anything else. At present, regulatory gaps are leading to human rights abuses and violations as well as appalling impunity.

Globally, corporations are engaged in operations that result in deep environmental harm, land grabbing and use of slave labor, hunger and malnutrition, to mention just a few of a never-ending list. In a world still dominated by patriarchal systems, this affects women and girls disproportionately: the roles they play in society and in their communities, their health, including prenatal and maternal, as well as the discrimination and sexual violence they face in their daily lives.

Primacy of human rights

As echoed by the latest Treaty Alliance’s statement, the introduction and regulation of corporations’ liabilities, both nationally and internationally, is needed so that States finally start meeting their obligations to protect human rights and the environment against harmful activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

In the words of Ana María Suárez Franco, FIAN International’s representative to the UN in Geneva, the treaty “must stipulate the primacy of human rights law over corporate rights and privileges”, which are enshrined in biased frameworks in trade and investment agreements. “It must also establish a strong international framework for corporate legal accountability to ensure access to justice, and remedy for affected individuals and communities and thus put an end to business impunity,” she says.

Integrating the gender approach

On a more specific note, it is clear that integrating a gender approach into the treaty is crucial to more effectively ensure the prevention, protection and remediation of business-related harms for women and girls, who are often left behind. Business operations may have different, disproportionate, or unanticipated impacts on women and men, as a result of their different gender-based social, legal, cultural roles and rights.
Countries aiming to be women’s rights champions must engage constructively in the negotiations, as the consecution of the treaty will be essential for the full realization of women’s and girls’ rights, as well as the adequate implementation of other legal instruments affecting them.

During this week of negotiations and beyond, people’s commitment and engagement in the process is essential to stop corporate abuse. From encouraging one’s national government and mobilizing in the streets to spreading the word on social media, support is needed.

Follow all updates on the negotiations on Storify
Following latest updates via Twitter via #BindingTreaty #Feminists4BindingTreaty #StopCorporateAbuse 

For media enquiries, please contact delrey[at]fian.org