A new report by the Transnational Institute, The Globalisation of Countering Violent Extremism Policy: Undermining Human Rights, Instrumentalising Civil Society, investigates whether policies designed to tackle terrorism in more intelligent and holistic ways lead to new challenges in upholding human rights and protecting civil society.

In the early 2000s, a new form of counterterrorism policy - Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) - emerged, pioneered first in Europe before spreading to the rest of the world. Within a decade, as policies were copied from one state to the next and taken up by the European Union, United Nations, and a host of other international fora, CVE was globalized. From Finland to the Philippines, CVE policies have been presented as the smarter and more liberal approach to countering terrorism than the crude and inflammatory “war on terror.”

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More than 100 states and over 200 representatives of social movements, trade unions and civil society organizations were at the UN in Geneva during the third session of the UN intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, from October 23-27, 2017. Members of parliaments from more than 20 countries and the European Parliament, as well as more than 700 civil society organizations have indicated strong public support for the process.

At the end of an intense and inspiring week, the closing Recommendations of the Chair-Rapporteur of the working group, Ambassador Guillaume Long, Permanent Representative of Ecuador in Geneva, committed to a road-map for the negotiation process for the fourth working group session in 2018 and to further annual sessions.

'The end of corporate impunity is coming': Video by the Global Campaign

The Draft Report and Conclusions were approved by consensus and will be submitted for final approval to the UNHRC in March 2018. Furthermore, it was agreed that the Elements paper towards a Treaty proposed by Ecuador in this third session remains open for further comment until the end of February and will then, together with the outcomes from the 2015 and 2016 sessions, form the basis for developing the zero draft treaty for the fourth working group session in 2018.

TNI was present in Geneva as an active member of the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity. The Campaign is a peoples’ global structural response to unaccountable corporate power that provides facilitation for dialogue, strategizing, exchanging information and experiences, acting as a space for visibility of resistance and deepening of solidarity and support for struggles against transnational corporations (TNCs).

TNI is also a founding member of the Treaty Alliance, a global coalition of 900 civil society organisations supporting the creation of the UN Binding Treaty.

Day by day updates from the Treaty Alliance during the third session are gathered together in this storify below.

Actúa por los derechos humanos from FOTOSconLETRA en Vimeo.

Entre el 24 y el 28 de octubre tendrá lugar la Segunda sesión del Grupo de Trabajo Intergubernamental de Composición Abierta del Consejo de Derechos Humanos (OEIGWG), cuyo mandato consiste en establecer un Tratado Vinculante sobre las empresas transnacionales y los derechos humanos.  

Recuedan #OccupyUNSquare 2015?

Este año nuevamente, en coordinación con la Alianza para el Tratado, la Campaña Global para Reivindicar la Soberanía de los Pueblos, Desmantelar el poder de las transnacionales y poner fin a la impunidad está de regreso en Ginebra! Dentro y fuera de las Naciones Unidas. Decenas de delegados/as de amplios movimientos sociales y redes de todo el planeta participarán en la Semana de Movilización de los Pueblos. 

• Dentro de la ONU: estamos planeando actividades en el Palacio de las Naciones, incluyendo eventos paralelos y conferencias de prensa, además de seguir de cerca las negociaciones y la presión sobre los Estados miembros para garantizar que se escuchen las voces de las comunidades impactadas alto y claro.
• Al exterior de la ONU: vamos a ocupar de nuevo la Plaza de las Naciones Unidas (Place des Nations), en frente del Palacio de las Naciones, en coordinación con los movimientos sociales y las organizaciones suizas.

Si no está asistiendo a la Semana de los Pueblos Movilización que nos puede seguir gracias a nuestro Storify (en breve), en @StopTNCimpunity, así como participar en algunas de las sesiones por streaming (más información será publicada aquí pronto al respecto).

Consulta el programa preliminar en este enlace

Más información:

m.vargas @ tni.org

campaign @ stopcorporateimpunity.org

Contacto con la prensa: soltrumbovila @ tni.org

¿Por qué una Semana de Movilización de los Pueblos? La necesidad de confrontar la Arquitectura de la Impunidad   

Entre las empresas transnacionales, los Estados y los Pueblos existe una innegable asimetría: 

• Por una parte: con la complicidad de los Estados interesados “atraer inversiones”, las empresas transnacioanles se protegen con una sólida coraza –que incluye acuerdos de libre comercio y de protección de las inversiones, con sus correspondientes mecanismos sancionadores. Estos últimos se sitúan en una lógica en la cual el arbitraje pugna por sustituir a la fuerza a la justicia. Instituciones como el Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (CIADI) constituyen claros ejemplos de dicha privatización de la justicia, así como otros mecanismos ISDS.
• Por otra parte, las violaciones de los derechos humanos y de los derechos de los pueblos y de la naturaleza son inherentes a las operaciones de las transnacionales, así como sistemáticas. Sin embargo, no existe a nivel internacional un instrumento vinculante que les obligue a respetar los derechos humanos.

En Junio de 2014, el Consejo de Derechos Humanos adoptó la resolución 26/9 para la elaboración de un instrumento internacional legalmente vinculante para las empresas transnacionales en materia de derechos humanos.

Se trató entonces de un evento histórico después de décadas de discusiones y de intentos fallidos dentro de las Naciones Unidas. Un instrumento legalmente vinculante es esencial para dos dimensiones del trabajo de la Campaña: poner fin a la impunidad de las ETNs y cuestionar su poder sistémico que ha causado impactos inéditos en la vida diaria de las comunidades afectadas.

En 2015 la Campaña Global estuvo presente durante la Primera Sesión del OEIGWG, y realizó diferentes actividades para presionar a los gobiernos de forma que avance el proceso hacia el Tratado Vinculante.  Este año, retornamos a Ginebra, con propuestas concretas.  

Enlace al seguimiento a la Semana de Movilización de los Pueblos desde Radio Mundo Real 

Más información:

8 propuestas para el Instrumento Internacional Jurídicamente Vinculante sobre Empresas transnacionales y Derechos Humanos (2015)

ONU: información sobre la Segunda Sesión del OEIGWG

Programa de trabajo de la Segunda Sesión (borrador propuesto por la Presidenta)

ONU: información sobre le Mandato del OEIGWG

Página Web de la Alianza para el Tratado

Otras movilizaciones relacionadas:

Junio 2016, Ginebra:  Desafiar los crimines corporativos y la impunidad: comunidades afectadas en busca de justicia

Mayo 2016, Bruselas: Exigir responsabilidades a las empresas transnacionales en la violación de los derechos humanos, Sesión en el Parlamento Europeo

Marzo 2016, Ginebra:  La Movilización de los Pueblos contra la Impunidad de las Transnacionales y por la Soberanía de los Pueblos converge ante las Naciones Unidas

Julio 2015, Ginebra: Movilización de los Pueblos 

Junio de 2014, Ginebra: Semana de Movilización de los Pueblos

Act for human rights from FOTOSconLETRA on Vimeo.

The Second Session of the Open Ended Inter-Governmental Working Group (OEIGWG) at the Human Rights Council with the mandate to establish a Binding Treaty on Transnational Corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights takes place in Geneva from 24^th to 28^th October. In June 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 26/9, which established the mandate of the OEIGWG; a historic achievement after decades of discussions and failed attempts within the United Nations.

In 2015 the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity was present during the First Meeting of the OEIGWG, and organised several activities to pressure governments to engage with the process of building a Treaty with binding rules for Transnational Corporations in respect of human rights. A legally binding Instrument is essential for two dimensions of the Global Campaign’s work: to end the impunity of transnational corporations that violate human rights, and to address their increasing influence at the national, regional and international level without the implementation of accountability mechanisms.

Remember #OccupyUNSquare 2015?

Activities of the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity
 

• Inside the UN: we are planning activities at the Palais des Nations, including side events and press conferences, in addition to following negotiations closely and direct advocacy to member states to ensure that they hear the voices of impacted communities loud and clear.
• Outside the UN: we will once again occupy the UN Square (Place des Nations), in front of the Palais des Nations, in coordination with Swiss social movements and organisations.

If you are not attending the Week of Peoples Mobilisation you can follow our activities on our Storify (coming soon), Facebook and Twitter, as well as participate in some sessions virtually by streaming (more information coming soon).

See our preliminary programme here

For more details contact:

m.vargas @ tni.org

campaign @ stopcorporateimpunity.org

Contact for the press: soltrumbovila @ tni.org
 

Why a Week of Peoples Mobilisation? The need to confront the Architecture of Impunity:

Between transnational corporations, states and peoples, there is an undeniable asymmetry. With the complicity of states claiming the need to “attract investment”, transnational corporations have covered themselves with a solid armour of free trade and investment protection agreements and their respective sanctioning mechanisms. Institutions such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) constitute clear examples of the privatisation of justice, as well as any ISDS mechanism.

In coordination with the Treaty Alliance, the Global Campaign will work in Geneva to advocate directly to UN member states to engage in a process to create a treaty, and to ensure they hear the voices of communities impacted by corporate violations loud and clear.

More information:

8 points: Written Contribution of the Global Campaign to the first session of the IGWG (2015)

UN information on the Second Session of OEIGWG

Programme of work for the Second Session (draft proposed by the Chair)

UN information on the Mandate of the OEIGWG

Website of the Treaty Alliance

Other related mobilisations:

June 2016, Geneva: Challeging Corporate Crime and Impunity: affected communities seek Justice

May 2016, Geneva: Peoples Mobilisation vs. Corporate Impunity converge at the UN

May 2016, Brussels: How to Hold Transnational Corporations Responsible for Human Rights Violations, Hearing at the European Parliament

Week of Peoples mobilization 2015

Week of Peoples Mobilisation in 2014

Also available in: Spanish