The Treaty Alliance Germany, an association of more than 20 German non-governmental organisations, has published a new statement. The Treaty Alliance Germany welcomes the draft for a UN Human Rights Treaty to regulate transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights ("Zero Draft"). The chairmanship of the intergovernmental working group has thus created an important basis for the negotiations during the forthcoming fourth working session from 15 to 19 October 2018 in Geneva. Members of the Treaty Alliance Germany attend the 4th session and have delivered an oral statement, expressing their dissatisfaction of the fact that after three working sessions and three months after the publication of the Zero Draft, the EU and its member states are still not willing to enter discussions on the content of the treaty.This is not in line with the EU’s self-conception that human rights are core values that the EU promotes around the world. It is also not in line with Germany’s foreign policy, which regards human rights as the basic tenet.
October 15, 2018 | Treaty Alliance Germany
Statement of the "Treaty Alliance Germany" on the draft for a legally binding UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights (»Zero Draft«)
The Treaty Alliance Germany, an association of German non-governmental organisations (NGOs), welcomes the draft for a UN Human Rights Treaty to regulate transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights ("Zero Draft"). The chairmanship of the intergovernmental working group has thus created an important basis for the negotiations during the forthcoming fourth working session from 15 to 19 October 2018 in Geneva.
The Zero Draft clarifies the elements for the draft legally binding instrument ("Elements") published in September 2017 and has gained consistency and clarity on many points. The draft builds on international developments in the field of business and human rights in recent years and takes up the basic principles of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, such as human rights due diligence and access to remedy for affected parties. With regard to the proposed obligations of states, the Zero Draft contains numerous proposals, which can also be found in the General Comment No. 24 by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The draft is also aligned with national developments on human rights due diligence in France and Switzerland. Against this background, the EU and the German Federal Government should from now on participate actively and constructively in the negotiations on the content of the agreement instead of questioning the process at a formal level. In view of the forthcoming negotiations of the open-ended intergovernmental working group from 15 to 19 October, they should also comment on the current Zero Draft. The Treaty Alliance Germany recommends that the Federal Government and the EU take up the following comments and suggestions in their considerations.
Read the full statement here.
Open-ended Inter-Governmental Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights
Oral Statement
(Item 4: General statements, October 15, 2018)
Dear Chairperson,
I am speaking on behalf of Attac Germany, Brot für die Welt, Friends of the Earth Germany, Global Policy Forum, MISEREOR and Südwind Institut. These organisations are all members of the Treaty Alliance Germany, which consists of more than 20 civil society organisations. The Treaty Alliance Germany welcomes the Zero Draft as a constructive basis for further negotiations.
We would like to react to the statement made by the European Union who regard the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles as sufficient to protect affected people of human rights violations by corporations and refuse to engage on the content of the Zero Draft.
The Zero Draft builds on international developments in the field of business and human rights in recent years and takes up the basic principles of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, such as human rights due diligence and access to remedy for affected parties. In the points where the Zero Draft goes beyond the UN Guiding Principles, it is filling the gaps in protection of affected people. None of the National Action Plans so far have improved access to justice for people affected by corporate human rights abuses in home States of transnational corporations. With regard to the proposed obligations of states, the Zero Draft contains numerous proposals, which can also be found in the General Comment No. 24 by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The draft is also aligned with national developments on human rights due diligence in France and Switzerland. Furthermore, the Zero Draft has already taken up many of the concerns of the EU.
Against this background, the EU and the German Federal Government should from now on participate actively and constructively in the negotiations on the content of the agreement instead of questioning the process at a formal level. We cannot accept that after three working sessions and three months after the publication of the Zero Draft, the EU and its member states are still not willing to enter discussions on the content of the treaty.
This is not in line with the EU’s self-conception that human rights are core values that the EU promotes around the world. It is also not in line with Germany’s foreign policy, which regards human rights as the basic tenet. Furthermore, the German foreign minister has recently called for an “Alliance on Multilateralism” defending existing rules in times of upheaval and calling on the United Nations and human rights to be at the centre of the international order. It is now time to stand up to these principles.
Download the oral statement during the OEIGWG here.
