While HRDD rightly takes center stage in the revised article on preventive measures, it is encouraging to see that the duty to prevent adverse human rights impacts does not stop at due diligence.
From the outset, trade unions have campaigned for a Binding Treaty that holds transnational companies liable for human rights violations throughout their activities, including those by supply chain entities, irrespective of the mode of creation, ownership, or control. This latest draft does just that by providing a sound basis for addressing existing accountability and liability gaps arising from the complex corporate structures of multinational companies and their supply chains.
Another significant improvement is the inclusion of a provision that explicitly requires states to ensure that any existing or new trade and investment agreements are compatible with the human rights obligations under the Binding Treaty.
Strengthening priorities for the next round of negotiations
While the latest draft captures many trade union demands, there are still significant improvements that can be made to the text. During the next round of negotiations, the global trade union movement will continue to call for the following priorities to be strengthened:
- A broad substantive scope covering all internationally recognized human rights, including fundamental workers’ and trade union rights, as defined by relevant international labor standards
- The coverage of all business enterprises regardless of size, sector, operational context, ownership and structure
- Parent company-based extraterritorial regulation and access to justice for victims of transnational corporate human rights violations in the home state of transnational corporations
- Regulatory measures that require business to adopt and apply human rights due diligence policies and procedures
- Reaffirmation of the applicability of human rights obligations to the operations of companies and their obligation to respect human rights
- A strong international monitoring and enforcement mechanism
In particular, we would like to see trade unionists explicitly recognized as human rights defenders and trade unions acknowledged as being an integral part of HRDD processes. The next draft will also benefit from more clarity on the relationship between liability for failing to conduct mandatory HRDD and liability for human rights abuses.