UN business treaty protects civilian rights
Binding treaty will impose legal liability on corporations under international law and human rights, writes Ayabonga Nase
The second session of the Inter-Governmental Working Group on Business and Human Rights took place in Geneva, Switzerland, recently. The group was established in 2014 by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council after the Ecuadorian and South African governments sponsored a resolution calling for the establishment of a working group to elaborate on a binding treaty. The treaty is intended to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other businesses. Its content has not yet been determined, but it is hoped it will impose legal liability on corporations under international law and human rights. The abuse of human rights does not only occur at the hands of or at the behest of states. Businesses, particularly transnational corporations, have much influence and power and thus can, and at times do, adversely affect the human rights of people globally. The leading international document that currently speaks to business and human righ...
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