Manushya Foundation in collaboration with over 280 ESCR-Net Members contributed to this position paper on the revised draft of the Treaty on Transnational Corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, calling for a Stronger Treaty to Regulate Corporate Activities.

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ESCR-Net members have come together to analyze and discuss the content of a revised Draft Treaty, published on 16 July 2019 as part of an ongoing intergovernmental process to fulfill UN resolution 26/9  to create a legally binding instrument that would regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.

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This position paper highlights several gaps in the revised Draft that must be addressed to ensure the full protection of human rights. Some of these gaps form red lines, identified by ESCR-Net members, on 11 key issues that if crossed, could undermine the purpose and goals of the Treaty: 

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• Scope of the Treaty;​

• Human rights defenders;

• Access to Information; 

• Indigenous Peoples Rights; 

• Gender and the Treaty; 

• Corporate Capture; 

• Conflict-affected areas;

• Business relationship vs. contractual relationship;

• Primacy of human rights; 

• State-owned companies; 

• Extraterritorial Obligations. 

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