Week of Peoples Mobilisation in Geneva

From 24^th to 28^th October the Second Session of the Open Ended Inter-Governmental Working Group (OEIGWG) at the Human Rights Council, mandated to establish a Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations will be held.

Remember #OccupyUNSquare 2015?

Again this year, in coordination with the Treaty Alliance, the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity is back in Geneva! Inside and Outside the UN. – Dozens of delegates from large social movements and networks worldwide will participate in the Week of Peoples Mobilisation…

Inside the UN: we are planning activities at the Palais des Nations, including side events and press conferences, in addition to following negotiations closely and direct advocacy to member states to ensure that they hear the voices from impacted communities loud and clear.
Outside the UN: we will occupy once again the UN Square (Place des Nations), in front of the Palais des Nations, in coordination with Swiss social movements and organisations.

If you are not attending the Week of Peoples Mobilisation you can follow us thanks to our Storify (coming soon), at @StopTNCimpunity, as well as participate in some sessions virtually by streaming (more information to be published here).

For more details contact:

m.vargas @ tni.org

campaign @ stopcorporateimpunity.org

Contact for the press: soltrumbovila @ tni.org

Why a Week of Peoples Mobilisation? The need to confront the Architecture of Impunity

Between transnational corporations, states and peoples, there is an undeniable asymmetry:

On one hand: with the complicity of states that are in that are interested in guaranteeing that they are “attracting investment”, transnational corporations have been covering themselves with a solid armour made up of free trade and investment protection agreements and their respective sanctioning mechanisms. Institutions such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) constitute clear examples of the privatisation of justice, as well as any ISDS mechanism.
On the other hand, violations of human rights and the rights of peoples and nature have become inherent to transnational corporations operations, as well as systematic. But at the international level there is no binding rule for corporations on Human Rights.

In June 2014, the Human Rights Council finally adopted the resolution 26/9 on the elaboration of an International legally binding instrument on transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises with respect to human rights.

This was a historic achievement after decades of discussions and failed attempts within the United Nations. Such a legally binding Instrument is essential for two dimensions of the Global Campaign’s work: to end corporate impunity, and address the systemic power of transnational corporations which has reached unprecedent impacts on the daily lives of affected communities.

In 2015 the Global Campaign was present during the First Meeting of the OEIGWG, and organised already several activities in order to pressure governments to keep the process of building a Transnational Corporations Treaty moving forward. And this year, we are back, with concrete proposals.

OUR CONCRETE PROPOSALS: THE 6 POINTS to be included in the UN Binding Treaty on Human Rights and Transnational corporations (TNCs):