OVERCOMING CORPORATE POWER

To allow corporations to set their own rules is to reinforce the link between money and power. The impacts of the activities of transnational corporations need to be regulated to protect life, human dignity, and the autonomy of communities. 

The extractivist behaviour of corporations is displayed most directly in the mining industry, but it is also interconnected with all of our areas of work as a cause of land grabbing, CO2 pollution, and unjust food systems. We are addressing these systemic overlaps with coherent policy positions. 

CIDSE leverages the resources of our international network to influence processes of international and national legislation that would oblige businesses to respect human rights. At EU level, we advocate for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and at UN level, for the binding treaty – an international legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises; our members push for national legislation on human rights due diligence.

CIDSE participates in spaces of exchange such as the Thematic Social Forum (TSF) on Mining and the Extractive Economy where grassroots movements have organised themselves into a dialogue around how to converge their struggles and recognise the commonalities of their injustices. Their perspectives inform our advocacy, and we support their participation in the legislative processes we are pursuing.