At a glance: 4th Annual meeting

The UN Human Rights Council’s working group in charge of developing a Binding Treaty on Human Rights and business gathered in its 4^th annual session between the 15^th and 19^th October 2018 in Geneva.

The outcomes produced mixed fillings.

On the one hand, it is positive to know that the process continues despite all the existing challenges at the beginning of the session. However, the EU’s role has been disappointing, even though the strong calls of the European Parliament’s Resolution and further work of the Global Inter-parliamentary Network is needed.

1. New stuff

• A Zero Draft of the Treaty has been discussed.
• Important presence of The Global Inter-parliamentary Network on support of the Binding Treaty (GIN).
  • Six MEPs participated in the fourth Annual Session.
  • In addition, Asian and Latin America MPs had an active role.
• The EU and its Member Stated where in the spotlight due to EP’s resolution supporting the treaty adopted just two weeks before the session.

2. During the session

• The nitty-gritty of the zero draft was discussed.
• Representatives from 94 countries and around 400 civil society organizations delegates were engaged.
  • There are still divergences on the content of the future treaty:
    • Some were disappointed with the draft 0 not including elements such as direct obligations for enterprises, stronger provisions affecting the entire value chain.
    • The scope remains one of the key issues: Transnationals corporations (TNC) ALL business enterprises.

• The EU’s role was disappointing
  • Regardless the EP’s Resolution of October 4^th, the EU and its Member Stated have played a passive role.
    • The EU only took the floor on the opening of the session to insist on expanding the approach to “all other business enterprises”.
    • No comment on any of the articles of the Zero Draft were made by the EU.

• This has been the result of a compromise at EU Council level between some Member States, who would have preferred that the EU was not present at all, and others who did want a more active engagement.
• France has been the only Member State to take the floor on an individual basis during the deliberation of some articles of the Zero Draft showing a greater commitment in the process.
• Spain, France, Belgium, and the EU delegation took the floor on Friday’s session, when the topic on the agenda were not the articles of the treaty itself but the “optional protocol”. [1]

3. Outcomes of the session

• The process is still alive and there will be a 5^th session next meeting.
• A Draft 1 will be prepared by the Chair-Rapporteur. It will contain in a better and more comprehensive manner the views of a larger number of States and civil society organisations.
• Some of the States who have often risen stronger concerns about the treaty like Russia or China have then supported the adoption of the session’s final report as proposed by the Chair-Rapporteur without rising any objection
• EU´s unconstructive role
  • The EU requested to add “the EU delegation disengages from the session’s conclusions and recommendations and does not consider itself bound by their directions” to the final report.
• The EU might push for a new Resolution updating the mandate of the Resolution 26/9 for modifiying the scope. This would open a new scenario in which it would be critical to guarantee that the treaty has specific provisions to cover the particularities of TNC’s abuses.
• Moreover, there are evidences that EU’s obstructing role is not any more that monolithic.

4. Steps forward

• More EU Council and the EC’s political commitment is needed
• An EU Council’s mandate aligned with EP’s resolution may be needed
• The GIN needs to keep play a leading role in the above mentioned matter.
• Further work both in EU Member States and in Brussels need to be done.
• From DEVE Committee side, an exchange of views with the EC and EEAS on the 4th Session will be requested
• A meeting with VP/HR Mogherini needs to be arranged.
• GIN’s members should continue the pressure to their national parliaments through written questions and resolutions.
• A GIN’s event on the first half of 2019 should be foreseen.

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Notes:

[1] Spain, whose Socialdemocrat government has alleged to be a supporter of the treaty, has not taken the floor during the discussions on the articles of the draft 0; Portugal has declared in informal meetings with NGO that they would have liked a more active participation but were held back by the consensus reached in the framework of the Council’s working group on human rights (COHOM); Finland, which has been identified as a potential supporter of the treaty due to its declarations during the last few months, was not present in the room.

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Link to the UN official portal

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