In a significant step towards safeguarding human rights from corporate influence, ESCR-Net has submitted a powerful statement to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. This submission highlights the pervasive issue of corporate capture and underscores the urgent need for reforms to protect decision-making processes from being monopolized by corporate interests.
The Threat of Corporate Capture: Corporate capture occurs when economic elites undermine the realization of human rights by exerting influence over public institutions and decision-makers. From manipulating policies to controlling narratives, this practice distorts governance structures at both national and international levels. ESCR-Net’s submission details alarming examples of corporate capture that have severely impacted human rights outcomes in key UN spaces, including:
- UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Corporate lobby groups like the International Emissions Trading Association have actively shaped climate policy in favor of carbon markets, undermining real climate action.
- UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): A strengthened partnership with CropLife International — a pesticide/biotech industry body — threatens biodiversity and food sovereignty.
- COVID-19 Response: Corporate lobbying obstructed equitable access to life-saving vaccines, prioritizing profit over global health.
A Call for Accountability: ESCR-Net urges States and international bodies to adopt concrete measures to dismantle corporate interference, including:
- Prohibiting corporations from influencing UN decision-making spaces where conflicts of interest exist.
- Establishing revolving door policies to prevent UN officials from joining corporate lobby groups for a defined period after leaving their roles.
- Ensuring corporate accountability through legally binding instruments to protect affected communities from exploitation and environmental harm.
Amplifying Voices of Resistance: The submission underscores the power imbalances between corporate actors and civil society organizations. ESCR-Net emphasizes the need to center the voices of marginalized communities, human rights defenders, and grassroots movements in global decision-making processes.
Next Steps: ESCR-Net invites governments, civil society organizations, and UN bodies to join efforts in adopting robust accountability frameworks that prioritize people over profit. This submission is a call to action for strengthening transparency, ensuring corporate accountability, and upholding human rights at every level of governance.
For further details, please visit the full submission here.
