Around the world, civil society, social movements, affected communities as well as human and environmental rights defenders are confronting widespread and systematic human rights abuses and violations related to business activities. This trend is intensified by corporate capture of government decision-making, barriers to effective regulation in both the home and host States of corporations – particularly transnational corporations, and a failure to ensure effective access to remedy and accountability.
Countries in the Global South face particular challenges in securing remedy for harms to their communities and environment by large transnational corporations headquartered in the Global North. Global South governments are consequently stuck with the costs and other long-term consequences of such damages. In 2014, 10 African States voted in support of Resolution 26/9 paving the way for the process towards stronger binding international regulations on TNCs and other business enterprises. This was the strongest support shown regionally for this process. This is quite significant given the weakening participation of African States over the years. We believe that there is an urgent need for the African States to support the current text of the legally binding instrument as a valuable starting point for negotiations and to push back against corporate capture of the process.
Learn about our advocacy position for the African Business and Human Rights Forum (12-13 October 2022, Accra, Ghana).
