At its 26th session, on 26 June 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9 establishing
“an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.”
The Human Rights Council also decided that the first two sessions of the open-ended intergovernmental working group should
“be dedicated to conducting constructive deliberations on the content, scope, nature and form of the future international instrument.”
Greater accountability is needed for communities impacted negatively by activities of all companies and welcomes international efforts to fight impunity. This can and will likely be achieved through a variety of avenues. A new international legal framework could help protect victims as well as better ensure a level playing field for all businesses - transnational and local, large and small, publicly listed, state-owned or privately owned.
This IHRB submission is intended to provide initial general views and recommendations for consideration by the intergovernmental working group in advance of its first session from 6-10 July 2015.
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Commentary by Scott Jerbi, Senior Advisor, Policy & Outreach, IHRB