Human Rights and Business Treaty
ESCR-Net members and allies are working collectively to advocate for a strong treaty at the United Nations to prevent and remedy human rights violations by transnational corporations and other companies. This page provides key documents and examples of collective advocacy towards the development of a binding instrument.
About
Around the world, ESCR-Net members and others are confronting widespread and systemic corporate human rights abuses. This trend is intensified by lack of effective regulation in both the home and host States of corporations and a failure to ensure effective access to remedy and accountability.
For more than a decade, ESCR-Net members have been taking collective action to advance the development of a clear and comprehensive international human rights framework on corporate accountability, including an international binding treaty on human rights and business.
Advocacy Tools
Over the last three months, members of the CAWG engaged in a process of collective critique and analysis of the second revised draft Treaty that was published on 7 August. Click below to see our collective submission on the Second Revised Draft Treaty on Corporate Accountability.
Collective Submission
In summary of our in-depth collective submission on the Treaty, you can also click below for an ESCR-Net advocacy paper highlighting all our key demands for a stronger draft Treaty, Article by Article.
Advocacy Position
Key documents
- CAWG’s Advocacy Position Papers on the Treaty (2021)
- CAWG’s Language Amendment on the Third Revised Draft (2021)
- CAWG’s Advocacy Position Papers on the Treaty (2020)
- IGWG's Second Revised Draft Treaty (2020)
- IGWG Sixth Session Programme of Work (2020)
- IGWG Sixth Session Technical Note (2020)
- CAWG's Collective Submission on the Revised Draft Treaty (2019)
- CAWG's Advocacy Position Papers on the Treaty (2018)
- IGWG’s Zero Draft of the Treaty (2018)
- IGWG’s Draft Elements for the treaty
- CAWG’s ‘Take Action Towards a Strong Treaty’ Udated Advocacy Factsheet (2017)
- CAWG’s Collective Submission to the IGWG (2017)
- CAWG’s Advocacy Position on Gender and the Treaty (2017)
- CAWG’s Advocacy Position on Corporate Capture and the Treaty (2017)
- CAWG’s Advocacy Position on Human Rights Defenders and the Treaty (2017)
- CAWG’s Collective Submission to the IGWG (2016)
- ESCR-Net and FIDH’s 10 Key Proposals on the Proposed Treaty (2016)
- Resolution 26/9 of the Human Rights Council (2014)
- CAWG’s Publication on States’ Extraterritorial Obligations – “Global Economy, Global Rights – A Practitioners’ Guide for interpreting human rights obligations in the global economy” (2014)
From the 5th IGWG / Desde la Quinta IGWG
Interventions by ESCR-Net members during negotiations of Draft Treaty // Intervenciones de los miembros de la Red-DESC durante negociaciones del Borrador de Tratado
ESCR-Net members react to negotiations on the Draft Treaty - October 2019 // Miembros de la Red-DESC Reaccionan a las Negociaciones sobre Borrador de Tratado - octubre 2019
SIDE EVENTS FROM THE 4th IGWG // EVENTOS PARALELOS DEL 4rto IGWG (2018):
MAKING THE BINDING TREATY WORK FOR WOMEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS
CORPORATE CAPTURE IN THE BINDING TREATY: how this Treaty can effectively address corporate capture, and how we can protect the Treaty process from being captured
PROTECTING DEFENDERS: how the Treaty should consider human rights defenders in the fight for corporate accountability
Hacia un tratado vinculante sobre ETNs y derechos humanos: miradas desde América Latina
Coalitions and Regional Advocacy
Treaty Alliance
Co-founded by ESCR-Net to help coordinate actions
and communications across diverse allies in the treaty process.
#Feminist4BindingTreaty
An alliance of feminist organizations, co-founded by several
ESCR-Net members and supported by CAWG