Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

Even so, Friends of the Earth International alongside the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity, is determined to ensure civil society, affected communities and Indigenous Peoples not be pushed aside. FoEI remains steadfast in ensuring that the Binding Treaty reflects the will of the people and the calls for justice of those affected leading the struggle against corporate power, over the desires of TNCs.

“The unbridled activities of TNCs bleed communities, our lands, environment and native peoples. Corporations continue to violate human rights around the world with impunity. A legally binding, effective and strong Treaty must guarantee us: the right to access justice and redress. It must guarantee to allow TNCs to be judged by independent judges for their crimes committed anywhere on the planet. It must guarantee real protection for those affected and their defenders. It must guarantee full reparations for damages, especially for the most vulnerable. It is unacceptable that corporate interests are currently given greater relevance over Human Rights.”

 

Pablo Fajardo

UDAPT / Friends of the Earth Ecuador

 

“The added value of the Binding Treaty lies in its complementarity with national and regional regulations on transnational corporations. Still it has to be ambitious, centering affected communities and peoples. Many of these regulations are insufficient to tackle the full global value chains and the human rights violations TNCs continue to commit across them. National legislation alone isn’t enough.”

 

Aurore Dorget

Friends of the Earth France

Yet, as with many UN negotiations, corporate power has found its way into the room.

“It is clear that corporate lobbies Lobby
Lobbies A lobby is an entity organized to represent and defend the interests of a specific group by exerting pressure or influence on persons or institutions that hold power. Lobbying consists in conducting actions aimed at influencing, directly or indirectly, the drafting, application or interpretation of legislative measures, standards, regulations and more generally any intervention or decision by the Public Authorities. in the room (such as the International Organisation of Employers, or the US Council for International Business) are committed to water down the treaty text and make it another weak, useless instrument based on corporate self-regulation and due diligence. Proposals from Global North countries to have a multistakeholder are just attempts to further entrench the corporate capture of the process. We’re demanding clear measures to protect the space from corporate influence and ensure that the voices of affected peoples and Global South states are the ones shaping the Binding Treaty.”

 

Erika Mendes

Justica Ambiental / Friends of the Earth Mozambique

 

“Civil society space and democracy is under threat in the United Nations and the Binding Treaty negotiations are no exception. Whether it be what draft of the text we move forward with, which experts are selected, or the dates of the session being changed last minute. These are all the technical parts of the UN that have very real implications for affected communities and Global South states whose voices continue to be marginalised in talks that they should be leading.”

 

Letícia Paranhos

Friends of the Earth International

Media contact

Ghislaine Fandel // ghislaine(at)foei.org // Whatsapp/Signal +33 7 66 67 95 50 // @FoEint // in Geneva 16-21 December