“The purpose of this treaty (on transnational corporations and human rights) is to fill the loophole that we have in international law that transnational corporations, because of their structures and the impunity with which they operate, are not held accountable for the violations they do throughout their supply chain”, said on Thursday environmental activist Erika Mendes, of Justiça Ambiental, Friends of the Earth Mozambique, in an interview with Real World Radio.

That legal instrument is being negotiated these days in Geneva, Switzerland, in the framework of the United Nations Human Rights Council, at its headquarters in this city.

Erika is part of the delegation of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) present in Geneva to push for the binding treaty. The delegation is also participating in the Week of Mobilization, with parallel activities taking place outside the UN headquarters, at the Place des Nations, organized by the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power, of which FoEI is a member.

The Mozambican activist, together with her colleague James Otto, of the Sustainable Development Institute – Friends of the Earth Liberia, also member of FoEI, talked to RWR about the different issues dealt with at these negotiations that are especially relevant for FoEI organizations in Africa. Watch the video interview below.