ESCR-Net's Red Lines: Urgent Action Needed for a Binding Treaty to End Corporate Impunity

Over the past decade, negotiations at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva have sought to establish a treaty addressing corporate impunity, but progress has been slow due to opposition and corporate interference. Today, corporations profit from environmental degradation, land grabs, mass displacement, systemic rights violations, and even genocide—disproportionately impacting Indigenous Peoples, women, peasants, and human rights defenders.

The Red Lines policy brief outlines the non-negotiable principles and protections that States must include in the LBI to ensure it effectively addresses the structural causes of corporate violations and abuses. This treaty offers a critical opportunity to prioritize people and the planet over profit.

What is the Legally Binding Instrument?

The Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) is a proposed international treaty aimed at regulating the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises to prevent human rights abuses and environmental harm. While negotiations gained traction in 2014 with the support of Global South States, negotiations in Geneva have faced resistance from powerful corporate lobbies and complicit States, revealing the pervasive influence of corporate capture. Yet, these talks represent a unique and vital opportunity to enshrine protections that the global community has demanded for decades.

The Red Lines policy brief highlights essential provisions for the LBI:

1. Primacy of Human Rights: Trade and investment agreements must not override or limit States’ ability to protect human rights.
2. Corporate Legal Liability: Binding international and national standards must hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses, including criminal and civil liability.
3. Extraterritorial Obligations: States must ensure that corporations headquartered in their jurisdictions are accountable for abuses committed abroad.
4. Conflict-Affected Areas: Enhanced due diligence and disengagement policies are critical to prevent corporate complicity in atrocity crimes.
5. Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination: Indigenous communities must have the right to refuse projects on their lands.
6. Workers and Rural Peasants: Protecting livelihoods and labor rights is essential in preventing exploitation and ensuring justice.
7. Climate Justice: Corporations must take accountability for environmental destruction and adopt real, rights-based climate solutions.
8. Corporate Capture: Safeguards are needed to ensure corporate interests do not dictate public policy or multilateral processes.

The Red Lines policy brief provides detailed case studies that demonstrate how corporations perpetuate violations while evading accountability:

Brumadinho, Brazil

In January 2019, a tailings dam operated by Vale S.A. collapsed, releasing toxic sludge that destroyed entire communities along the Paraopeba River. Afro-descendant Quilombola communities and Indigenous Pataxó groups were among the most severely affected. Many victims were denied emergency assistance due to bureaucratic barriers, while Vale evaded full accountability by settling disputes out of court. The Brumadinho disaster underscores the urgent need for corporate liability and enhanced protections in vulnerable areas. Binding accountability measures must prevent corporations like Vale from externalizing the costs of their negligence onto communities.

Palestine and Myanmar

Corporations like Boeing and Airbus have been complicit in atrocities by supplying military equipment to regimes involved in genocide. Boeing has provided fighter jets and attack helicopters to Israel, which have been extensively used in Gaza, resulting in mass civilian casualties and displacements. Similarly, Airbus has partnered with China’s AVIC, enabling Myanmar’s military to perpetuate genocide against the Rohingya people. These cases highlight the critical need for enhanced due diligence and international accountability mechanisms.

Guatemala

The Marlin Mine, operated by Goldcorp Inc., imposed devastating consequences on Indigenous Maya Mam and Sipakapense communities. Despite operating on Indigenous lands, the project proceeded without consent, causing environmental destruction, groundwater contamination, and displacement. The case demonstrates the importance of recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination within the LBI.

Abu Ghraib, Iraq

Private military contractor CACI Premier Technology, Inc. conspired with U.S. military personnel to torture detainees at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War. Survivors endured inhumane treatment, including physical and psychological abuse, for which CACI evaded accountability for over 16 years. This case illustrates the need for the LBI to establish clear legal liability for corporate actors involved in atrocity crimes.

Cajamarca, Colombia

Peasant communities in the Cajamarca Valley face existential threats from the La Colosa gold mine, operated by AngloGold Ashanti. The project jeopardizes food security and water access, endangering millions while disregarding community opposition. This case underscores the importance of safeguarding community-led decision-making against exploitative corporate practices.

As we face one of the darkest times in modern history, the time for bold action is now, for a corporate-run world is not only dangerous but unsustainable—for both our planet and the majority of people and nations—making it crucial for States to step up, take leadership, and limit the power held by corporations of the Global North to prevent the total destruction of rights.

The LBI represents a historic opportunity to establish a legal framework that puts people and the planet above profit. The slow progress of the LBI negotiation process stems from corporate capture of decision-making spaces, both nationally and within the United Nations. 

The proposed LBI must provide for:

• Legal liability for corporate actors,
• International mechanisms for monitoring and accountability,
• Enhanced protections for Indigenous Peoples, workers, and human rights defenders, and
• Concrete measures to combat environmental destruction, the climate crisis, and corporate complicity in atrocity crimes.

As individuals, organizations, and States, we must amplify the voices of affected communities and demand justice. Share the Red Lines brief, advocate for the treaty with your representatives, and join us in ensuring that corporate accountability is non-negotiable.