UN Business & Human Rights Framework: Developing an intergovernmental process towards a binding instrument
CIDSE written statement on the occasion of the UN Human Rights Council 26th Session (Geneva, 10-27 June 2014) (Also available in EN, FR, ES)
Discussions on developing an intergovernmental process towards a binding international instrument on business and human rights are continuing and evolving, in the run-up to the UN Human Rights Council session in June 2014. In this context, we are pleased to share with you our CIDSE statement to the Council on this matter. In this statement we recognise that the complex challenge of preventing corporate abuses of human rights will require a range of creative approaches, not one single solution.
An international instrument requiring national legislation enacting corporate legal liability for serious violations of human rights would serve both as an incentive for businesses to undertake proper human rights due diligence, and to repair harm done where they fail. It is certainly worth developing in-depth thinking about the pros and cons of different regional and international instruments, without simply closing down the debate.
If we are to see wide-scale reductions in instances of human rights abuses as a result of business activities, it is important to make progress in parallel both on implementation of the Guiding Principles, and in discussions on a binding international instrument, building on efforts to date.
Contact person:
– Denise Auclair, Senior Policy Advisor, CIDSE
EN – CIDSE statement UN HRC 2014
FR – Déclaration de la CIDSE ONU CDH
ES – Declaracion de CIDSE ONU CDH