A decade, more or less, is the blink of an eye for the sausage making that is an international binding instrument, by whatever name it might its its creators to gift it. Still, even processes for international treaty making run the risk of getting stale--or worse, of missing that gloriously brief moment of relevance before time, context, and global imperatives shift. So it may be with the OEIGWG process for crafting a Business and Human Rights Treaty in a world that, in ways impossible to predict with any accuracy in 2014, is in the process of moving on. That ought to be a cause for worry. And so it may be.
I had earlier suggested some of the foundational ideological ground shifting that may be undermining the 2014 vision of the Treaty and its journey to textual realization. See here and here. Others are considering more broadly the trajectories for human rights due diligence as law or norm. See eg here.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, long a friend of both the process and its normative content, has now organized what looks like an intensely interesting webinar, the first of its new series on the Business and Human Rights Treaty.
The recent demise of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has sent shockwaves through the Business and Human Rights (BHR) landscape. Once announced as a milestone for corporate regulation, the Directive’s collapse highlights the fragility of regional efforts in the face of political and economic pushback, and the uncertainty for victims to hold companies accountable over human rights abuses.
As the EU retrenches and some countries have seen regulatory rollbacks, the BHR community is left questioning: what’s next for corporate accountability and access to justice for victims? In this context, the UN Binding Treaty process may now carry renewed significance. Can a binding international instrument fill the regulatory vacuum left behind? Can it re-centre Global South voices that are often marginalised in domestic and regional regulatory efforts?
Our expert panel will shed light on:The current state of EU regulatory frameworks on Business and Human Rights, with a focus on EU CSDDD/Omnibus;
The limitations of Global North-led regulation;
The impacts of the deregulation trend on affected people in the Global South, and the importance of a treaty for corporate accountability and access to justice.
Confirmed panelists include:Our keynote speaker Heidi Hautala, former Member and Vice-President of the European Parliament
Ben Vanpeperstraete, Senior EU Adviser, Anti-Slavery International
Dr. Caroline Lichuma, Postdoctoral Researcher, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Prarthana Rao, Programme Manager BHR Programme, FORUM-ASIA
This has all the makings of an excellent program which one should consider attending. Link to Registration HERE.
More information below.
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