Consultation in Asia-Pacific

Meeting Agenda:  Legal Group – CSO (Asia-Pacific) Consultation Regarding the Priorities for the International Treaty on Human Rights and Business. Chiang Mai, Thailand (May 1-3, 2015)

On January 28, 2015 the Corporate Accountability Working Group (CAWG) of the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), together with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), announced the launch of a joint two-year project which will bring together legal experts from all regions to form an Legal Group (LG) to work on concrete proposals towards a binding treaty on business and human rights. These proposals will emerge from and reflect regional consultations with affected communities, grassroots groups, advocates and academics.

ESCR-Net and FIDH are proud to co-host the first regional consultation with Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in Chiang Mai, in May 2015. More consultations will be held in other regions throughout 2015 and 2016 prior to the release of all final legal proposals by the LG. 

The consultation session between the LG and grassroots groups and other civil society actors in the Asia-Pacific region will begin the process of formulating legal proposals. These proposals will support advocacy efforts to promote the development of a robust and feasible legally binding instrument to address human rights abuses committed by transnational companies and other business enterprises.

Apart from beginning this normative development process, meetings will also aim to develop coordinated civil society advocacy strategies in the various regions, beginning with Asia-Pacific.  The advocacy strategies will consider ways to engage States to play an active and positive role in the UN Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG), as well as identify ways in which this international process can support local advocacy efforts for accountability, including through strengthening national and regional legal and policy frameworks. 

For a complete list of participants from grassroots groups and other civil society actors please visit here

To read the Unity Statement, please visit here

For a list of the Legal Group please visit here

To download the Report on the Regional Consultation, please click here

For more information please visit www.escr-net.org/treaty or contact Dominic Renfrey (drenfrey@escr-net.org) or Geneviève Paul (gpaul@fidh.org).

Agenda