Watch J. Ziegler, A. de Zayas and others on the necessity to hold TNCs accountable for HR violations

Watch all interventions of the side-event « How to hold TNCs accountable for Human Rights violations? » organised by CETIM, Friends of the Earth International & the Transnational Institute, members of the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power, Stop Impunity and Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty.

The brutal assassination of the indigenous leader Berta Cáceres in her home in Esperanza, Honduras on the 3rd of March 2016, has generated an unprecedented worldwide protest, demanding effective access to justice and the end of TNC’s impunity. The shots that killed Bertha are a continuum of the militarized violence that increasingly cost the lives of leaders and citizens defending human rights and the environment around the world.

It is the persistent resistance of defenders of human rights which have brought the issue of corporate impunity to the agenda of the UNHRC and continues to give momentum to the mandate of the OEIGWG set up in June 2014 to establish a binding international instrument to address TNCs and other business enterprises with respect to human rights.

Transnational corporations have indeed become major and powerful actors, and their activities, directly or indirectly, have a huge impact on human rights and the daily lives of people globally. But TNCs are able to evade national jurisdictions because of their transnational character, and the unprecedented economic, financial and political power they command, their economic and legal flexibility, and the complex structures they use to carry out their operations. Impunity therefore typically prevails, especially when the affected communities and peoples are in the Global South.

During this event, key actors and experts of the process debated about the on-going challenges that characterize the negotiations. They presented key elements regarding the content of the future legally binding international instrument. This side-event also explored how to ensure that the new instrument is effective, reflects the needs of the affected communities, the realities of human rights violations on the ground and addresses existing gaps in protection and access to justice.

Brid Brennan’s introduction (TNI) :

In english

Jean Ziegler’s intervention (member of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee) :

In english

Alfred de Zayas’ intervention (Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic & Equitable International Order) :

In english

H.E Maria Fernanda Espinosa’s intervention (ambassador of Ecuador to the United Nations in Geneva) :

In spanish

Alberto Villarreal’s intervention (Friends of the Earth) :

In spanish