Law Professor at Valencia University, Adoración Guaman, considered that the “Zero Draft” of the binding treaty on transnational corporations and human rights, under negotiation at the UN “turns its back on three years of negotiations and it fails to respect the spirit of resolution 26/9”, which gave way to these international negotiations. “The Draft has thrown out the main red…
Re: Publication of the “Zero Draft” text for the negotiation of a Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the activities of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and other Business Enterprises. (1) We welcome the recent publication of the “Zero Draft” text for the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on Transnational Corporations (TNCs) with regard to human rights…
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. However, “we cannot be celebrating”. The planet is facing serious environmental degradation, and the necessary measures to counteract it are not being taken, warned activist Rita Uwaka with Environmental Rights Action - Friends of the Earth Nigeria. The environmentalist, who is part of the steering group…
The negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), involving 16 Asia-Pacific countries, are failing international standards of transparency and public participation, according to a study titled “RCEP: A secret deal” conducted by several international organizations. “It is quite shocking how representatives of the governments are able to hide behind secrecy, saying that it is necessary for effective negotiations” said…
Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands launched a report where they warn that Dutch Banks ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank have to take responsibility for the disastrous environmental and social consequences of providing finance to the palm oil sector at large scale. These banks should pull out of this sector, demands the organization. "What we wanted to show is…
At the end of June, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which gathers actors from several sectors of the palm oil industry, reported that they had suspended Swiss company Nestlé´s membership for failing to follow the RSPO´s Statutes and Code of Conduct. However, Nestlé “doesn´t seem to care”, warned Friends of the Earth International. “Voluntary certification has no means…
Ecuador´s Constitutional Court has rejected the protection appeal filed by Chevron in 2014. Since 2014, the Union of People Affected by Texaco (UDAPT) expected a resolution by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador about the protection appeal filed by Chevron Corporation to avoid paying 9.5 billion dollars as part of a historical sentence received in 2011 for the damage caused to…
Environmental activist Dana Perls, of Friends of the Earth US, denounced in Montreal Canada that the “gene drive” is a new genetic engineering extinction technology, which could permanently alter entire generations and populations of species.} For this reason, Friends of the Earth International is calling for a moratorium on the release of gene drives in the framework of the session…
The Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power organized on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, an activity in the framework of the United Nations (UN) to insist on the need for the new treaty that allows to take corporations that violate human rights to justice to be binding. The different social movements and organizations from the five continents that are part of…
“We have seen how transnational corporations use transnational structures and complex schemes to avoid liability and national jurisdictions and evade their legal responsibilities” in terms of human rights violations, said activist Anne van Schaik, of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) in Geneva, Switzerland. This was during the third round of consultations held this year by the Ecuadorian Chair of…
