UN Binding Treaty Negotiations: What’s at stake in Geneva this week?
This week, from 16-20 December, the 10th session of historical negotiations is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations. The negotiations aim to regulate the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) under human rights law through a legally binding treaty.
The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity has issued a press release stating that the 10th session of these historic negotiations is breathing life into a multilateral system in crisis.
“The consistent participation of communities affected by the activities of TNCs, civil society organisations, trade unions, and social movements has made this one of the most strongly supported processes in the history of UN human rights negotiations.” the press release notes.
Expectations were high this year with the approval of the first additional resolution at the HRC, which brings additional resources and capacity to carry out the negotiations. However, the session came under threat just months prior. Originally scheduled for October 2024, it was abruptly rescheduled to late December, imposing profound logistical and financial burdens on attending civil society groups and states from the Global South.
Despite this setback, the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity remains determined to ensure the demands of its 260+ member organisations are heard.
One key issue in the negotiations is the scope of the treaty, which remains highly contested.
“Resolution 26/9, which initiated this process, gave a clear mandate to regulate the activities of TNCs and other businesses with an international character. However, in the last two sessions, the Chair of the process, the State of Ecuador, has sided with corporate interests and Global North countries, where the majority of TNC headquarters are based. Many Global South countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia, Palestine, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Cuba, Honduras, and others, are emphasizing the importance of focusing the treaty on TNCs.”, Pablo Fajardo from UDAPT/Friends of the Earth Ecuador explained.
Pierre Maison from La Via Campesina added:
“The International Chamber of Commerce, the International Organisation of Employers, and the US Council for International Business are nothing but mouthpieces for transnational corporations. They have no place here. Violators should not be in the room where it is discussed how they should pay for their violations.”
Dima Asfour, Palestine’s UN Representative, asserted during the first day of the session:
“In these dark moments we are living, corporations are complicit in genocide, mass displacement, famine, and the destruction of land and nature—whether in Palestine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or beyond. All life on this planet is at stake, and those most affected are the Indigenous peoples, women, peasants, and human rights defenders fighting against this corporate colonisation. Corporate impunity cannot prevail. Corporate greed, entrenched by the legacy of colonisation and capitalist agendas, must end.”
A delegation from the Global Inter-parliamentary Network (GIN) organised a side event to discuss the complementarity between national legislation regulating TNCs and the Binding Treaty process. Alírio Uribe, Member of Parliament in Colombia; Federico Fagioli, Provincial Senator in Argentina; and Sonia Gutierrez Raguay, Member of Parliament in Guatemala, emphasised:
“The Binding Treaty should serve as an inspiration to advance domestic regulations that strengthen national legal systems and vice versa. This is especially important in a global context of interrelated crises, in which transnational corporations are central actors as instigators and beneficiaries.”