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Parties currently meeting at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva must initiate a first-ever internationally binding legal instrument to hold corporations that violate human rights accountable, ACT Alliance has said.
Commenting on the 26thsession of the UN Human Rights Council taking place from 10-27 June 2014, ACT Alliance urged parties to begin a process of developing a binding international treaty on business and human rights.
The alliance has joined over 460 organisations which have signed a “Call for an international legally binding instrument on human rights, transnational corporations and other business enterprises”, and said it hopes this meeting will see progress towards better protection of human rights in the face of corporate-related abuses.
“It is time to ensure that everybody, including powerful corporations, respect human rights and start being held legally accountable for their actions and inactions,” said Pauliina Parhiala Deputy General Secretary at ACT Alliance. “We have seen people kicked off their lands with empty promises from transnational corporations. The result is that they lose access to livelihoods, clinics, schools and more, with no repercussions on these corporations. This is exploitation and a clear violation of human rights. We see the need for an internationally legally-binding instrument to hold those corporations that engage in this behaviour accountable.”
Parhiala said that while the current “UN guiding principles on business and human rights” has helped create understanding that corporations have responsibilities to respect human rights, these were only the beginning of the process, and the lack of legal means of holding corporations accountable has resulted in little progress.
She argued that more protection by states for their people against corporate human rights abuses would provide more chances for development to be sustainable and respectful of the rights of the people and the environment.
In an oral statement given by an ACT member at the meeting this week, it was proposed that the legally binding instrument called for should build on the guidelines already in place, and that it should require state parties to monitor and regulate business operations under their jurisdiction and establish legal penalties for human rights abuses.
“Corporations that implement their projects responsibly should have nothing to be concerned about, and many corporations consider it only fair that those enterprises that respect human rights should expect all other corporations to be held to the same standards,” Parhiala said. “We implore the governments to stand on the side of the communities, peoples and nations affected by corporate human rights violations with limited access to remedies. We hope to have the opportunity to work with governments in support of this initiative.”
ACT Alliance will co-host an event on 24 June at 11:00 – 13:00 in the Palais des nations UN Office in Geneva, titled “Towards an international legally binding instrument to end corporate-related abuses of human rights”, bringing examples of on-the-ground human rights infringements in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
