A Business and Human Rights Treaty
In July 2018, the intergovernmental working group (IGWG), tasked with elaborating a treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, released the zero draft. This has been the next step in a process that began in 2014 with the creation of the IGWG.
The GBI team has been actively monitoring the IGWG’s work – and the dialogue amongst leading thinkers across the business and human rights movement about the need for and best focus of a business and human rights treaty.
To assist business practitioners to develop a clear understanding of these developments, the GBI team shared two resources in 2014:
GBI shared further thoughts on business engagement with this process during a session of the 2015 UN Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights.
Three years have elapsed since the IGWG commenced work, and the GBI team’s key messages for business remain relevant:
Remain focused on implementation of respect for human rights. Do not get side tracked by the politics around the treaty drafting process.
Demonstrate results, however initial or partial, of efforts to implement respect for human rights – and when doing so, be proactive about explaining the benefits of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Encourage action on the government pillar of the UNGPs, both at home and around the world where you do business.
Engage constructively on “access to remedy”, especially via processes that take a multistakeholder and evidence-based approach to building solutions.
If your company is not yet taking concrete steps to implement respect for human rights in practice – start the journey now with simple initial steps.
Now is the time to engage. If business leaders have ideas about how an international treaty could help achieve meaningful progress towards the transformative vision of the UNGPs, there are opportunities to contribute to this process.