45 European NGOs welcome the publication of the elements for a binding treaty on business and human rights which were prepared by the Chair-Rapporteur of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights on October 2nd, 2017. They urge the European Union, and its Member States individually, to use this historic opportunity to support the UN treaty and show that Europe can be a champion on multilateralism and human rights and business. The organisations call on their governments and the EU to prepare in a constructive and open spirit the European participation in the IGWG session and to discuss the draft elements with European civil society at national level and in Brussels.
October 10, 2017 | Global Policy Forum et al.
European NGOs call on the EU and its Member States to constructively support the negotiations around a binding treaty on business and human rights
Statement by European NGOs on the publication of elements for the open-ended intergovernmental working group (IGWG) on transnational corporations and other business enterprises
The undersigned organisations welcome the publication of the elements which were prepared by the Chair-Rapporteur of the open-ended intergovernmental working group (IGWG) on transnational corporations and other business enterprises (TNCs and OBEs) with respect to human rights on October 2nd, 2017.
We believe that the elements presented by the Chair-Rapporteur set the stage for fruitful discussions about the content of the long-awaited international legally binding instrument. We support these elements as they are following on from a credible process during the last two years and aim to address the issues needing action and cooperation at international level, where gaps have been clearly recognized – under the helpful headlines of obligations, prevention, effective remedy, jurisdiction, international cooperation, enforcement mechanisms.
We welcome the scope of application based on the “transnational character” of the activities, regardless of the mode of creation, control, ownership, size or structure.
We welcome the fact that point 2.3 makes a clear reference to the “Actors subject to its application” including TNCs and OBEs. We welcome the clear references to the recent French legislation on “duty of vigilance” and describing the obligations of TNCs and OBEs with a “preventive” aspect (the “vigilance plan” mentioned in paragraph 4), as well as the stated objective (para 1.4) to establish and strengthen effective remedy mechanisms.
We will prepare a more in-depth statement regarding the different parts of the draft elements, which we will be happy to share as inputs for your preparations for the upcoming IGWG session taking place October 23-27th in Geneva.
Throughout the world, support for this treaty is growing, illustrated by the increasingly loud call from affected communities, human rights defenders, and wider civil society, to establish internationally binding and enforceable rules applicable to corporate conduct. Also within Europe we see there is increased support among academia, civil society organizations, and the wider public.
The European Union has an important role to play in the upcoming negotiations for global justice, especially in a time of rising isolationism. At a time at which the EU is proposing to start negotiations on an international framework for investor rights (the Multilateral Investment Court), we strongly believe that strengthening and upholding human rights for victims of corporate abuse in the context of investment should be prioritized.
We urge the European Union, and its Member States individually, to use this historic opportunity to support the UN treaty and show that Europe can be a champion on multilateralism and human rights and business.
We call on our governments, the Cohom[1] and the European Commission to:
1. Prepare in a constructive and open spirit the European participation in the IGWG session, with a view of protecting victims of business related human rights abuse from future harm, and remedying harms where they occur. We think it is important that the 28 Member States are able to freely discuss their position, as we think that each Member State has a valuable contribution to make.
2. Discuss the draft elements with European civil society at national level and in Brussels. As we have said before, we think it is important to have a substantive discussion on the elements that are being proposed including their implications, implementation and effectiveness in preventing and addressing business related human rights abuses.
We very much hope that there will be a possibility to exchange thoughts before October 23rd, which could take different forms, such as providing analysis regarding the draft elements; convening an expert meeting, providing a presentation at the Cohom or holding bilateral or round table discussions.
We look forward to hearing from you and are available for any further exchange of views.
With kind regards,
11.11.11.
ActionAid
ActionAid France-Peuples solidaires
Amigos de la Tierra España
Attac Austria
Attac Norway
Broederlijk Delen
Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) / Friends of the Earth Germany
CAFOD
CCFD-Terre Solidaire
Christian Mutual Health Funds (National Alliance of)
CIDSE
Christliche Initiative Romero
CNCD-11.11.11
Commission Justice et Paix
Constituante.be
CorA Network for Corporate Accountability
Corporations-Zero Tolerance/CorporaçõesTolerância zero
Cospe
ECCJ
Entraide et Fraternité
Fair
Fairwatch
Friends of the Earth Europe
Friends of the Earth France
Friends of the Earth Sweden
Global Policy Forum
HUMAN RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL CORNER
IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands
Links Ecologisch Forum - Forum Gauche Ecologie
Magyar Természetvédők Szövetsége / Friends of the Earth Hungary
Maison médicale Alpha Santé
Mani Tese
Milieudefensie- Friends of the Earth Netherlands
NaZemi
Netzwerk Soziale Verantwortung (NeSoVe)
Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business
Pro Ethical Trade Finland
SAW-B
ShareAction
SOC-SAT ECVC European Coodination of La Via Campesina
SOMO
Südwind
WEED - World Economy, Ecology & Development e.V.
WSM-World Solidarity
[1] Working Party on Human Rights of the Council of the European Union.
