Civil society holds side event on UN Binding Treaty
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Join us for a side event at the UN in Geneva on 19 October 2018 discussing African perspectives on the binding treaty on business and human rights
CALS – along with Lawyers for Human Rights, ActionAid, the International Federation for Human Rights, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association and Democratic Governance and Human Rights Advocates – are hosting a side event at the United Nations on 19 October 2018. The discussion centres on African perspectives of the proposed UN Binding Treaty on business and human rights and will take place at the Fourth Session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises With Respect to Human Rights.
The event, which will take place in Room XXIII, will offer an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the lived experiences of marginalised communities across Africa, who are negatively impacted by Transnational Corporations in general, and particularly those affected by the extractives sector.
Participants on the panel will reflect on the week’s negotiations, and the potential for the treaty to effectively contribute to the protection of human rights across the continent in future.
Meaningful engagement by African States in the process of negotiating a treaty on business and human rights is critical to ensure that the perspectives and interests of affected communities in Africa – who often experience the brunt of big business – are reflected in the final instrument”, said Fatima Vally of ActionAid. “This panel is intended to provide a space for African States and other stakeholders to reflect on what a treaty could offer by way of protection of the human rights of the most marginalized citizens of the continent”.
The Fourth Session of the open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group is taking place from 15 to 19 October in Geneva, where substantive negotiations on the elaboration of an international legally binding instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises are underway.
DATE: Friday, 19 October 2018
TIME: 14H00 – 15H00
VENUE: Palais des Nations, Room XXIII
