UN side event in Geneva (13 October): Treaty on Business and Human Rights Enters a Decisive Phase

The UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights is entering a decisive phase of negotiations. But what rules are needed to ensure that affected individuals can actually pursue legal action against human rights violations committed by companies and receive redress? This question is the focus of the side event “Advancing the UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights” on October 13 in Geneva.

The side event will take place as part of the 12th session of the UN Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises and Human Rights (OEIGWG). It is organized by the Global Policy Forum Europe, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, IG Metall, IndustriALL Global Union, and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WECF).

The event will take place from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Room XI at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Journalists are invited to attend the event in person or via live stream.

For more than ten years, the United Nations has been working on a legally binding agreement—the “UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights”—designed to hold companies more accountable for human rights violations in their business activities. The negotiation process has now reached a critical juncture. The side event will therefore focus on how the current draft can be further developed and which provisions are essential.

Representatives of affected communities, human rights defenders, and labor union members will discuss during the event which provisions the future treaty must include to ensure that those affected have access to legal protection and redress, and that companies can be held accountable for human rights violations.

Panelists include:

• Katharina Cândido, Children’s Rights Advocate at the Human Rights Clinic, Federal University of Minas Gerais
• Ramona Margarita Domingo Díaz, Poli􀆟cal Leader and Coordinator of the Maya People’s Council
• Refiloe Joala, Program Manager Food Sovereignty at Southern Africa Regional Office Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS)
• Ruwan Subasinghe, Legal Director at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)

The event will be moderated by Celia Sudhoff, Program Director at the Global Policy Forum Europe.

To attend in person at the Palais des Nations, United Nations access requirements apply; the event will also be held in a hybrid format. We will be happy to send you the access link upon request before the event begins.