CIDSE and its members launch a new study by Dr. Markus Krajewski, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, entitled “Ensuring the Primacy of Human Rights in Trade and Investment Policies: Model clauses for a UN Treaty on transnational corporations, other businesses and human rights.” The study seeks to contribute to the debate of how a treaty on businesses and human rights might address the potential conflict between trade and investment policies and human rights in the context of the UN treaty process. It recalls the main areas of potential conflict between trade and investment policies and human rights, in particular trade and investment agreements. The study explains how some of these conflicts could be addressed in reformed trade and investment agreements. As such reforms would not be sufficient, the final part of the study develops and explains model clauses addressing investment and trade policies which could be included in a treaty on businesses and human rights.
April 25, 2017 | CIDSE
Ensuring the Primacy of Human Rights in Trade and Investment Policies
Model clauses for a UN Treaty on transnational corporations, other businesses and human rights
By Dr. Markus Krajewski
The international regime of trade and investment agreements is currently suffering from a significant legitimacy crisis, which should be considered as a window of opportunity for the introduction of new legal approaches to address the relationship between human rights and investment and trade policies. The UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights are non-binding and so far, States have not fundamentally changed their treaty practices, for example in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU. It is unlikely that rebalancing and restructuring the relationship between investment and trade rules on the one side, and human rights and on the other, in a treaty on businesses and human rights will have negative effects on the trade and investment performance of the parties of this treaty. This study explores the potential of a future treaty to help overcome the limitations and gaps of reforms within the trade regime, via provisions addressing three specific areas: first, regulating the relationship between human rights and trade and investment agreements; second, human rights impact assessments; and third, human rights obligations for export credit and investment guarantee schemes.
In October 2017, the third session of the UN intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations, other businesses and human rights will begin negotiations on the draft text for the treaty. With this study, CIDSE and its members seek to present proposals and put forward possible concrete wording for provisions that the treaty could contain, which can serve as a basis for wider discussion.
Read the full study here.
Read the executive summary here.
