ESCR-Net members delivered critical messages to ensure the treaty includes robust provisions for corporate accountability. Shohel Hajong, from the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) emphasized the impact of corporate projects on Indigenous Peoples in a general statement on behalf of the Network, AIPP, FIAN International, and Feminists For a Binding Treaty (F4BT). These projects threaten fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. “Indigenous Peoples are being evicted from their ancestral lands and territories, which is not only a violation of their rights to lands, territories, and resources but also weakens Indigenous women’s roles in resource conservation and management, including sustainable food systems,” he stated.
Martha Devia Grisales from Comité Ambiental en Defensa de la Vida, in a joint statement with ISHR, Asia Forum, and Franciscans International, stressed the urgent need for binding regulations: “After ten years of negotiations, we believe more than ever that binding rules and better regulations of business are essential. This is particularly urgent in the context of the triple planetary crisis and situations of conflict where corporate impunity is the norm. We also see an increase in criminalization, harassment, and intimidation of human rights defenders, particularly those fighting against corporate interests and protecting the environment.”
Building on these points, Juana Toledo of the Consejo de Pueblos Maya Wuxhtaj highlighted the profound impact of the negotiations: “This 10th negotiation of the treaty on human rights and business has taken an important turn. There is hope and paths forward. The struggle of the peoples who have suffered death, dispossession, and evictions from their territories has not been in vain. We must continue fighting for the rights of human beings and Mother Earth. We must stop corporate capture, a murderous system that is destroying human life, trees, animals, and water on Mother Earth. States and civil society worldwide must remain firm until this treaty is approved to end corporate impunity.”