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ESCR / Statements / 2002 / August

OMCT's intervention before the UN Sub-Commission's Working Group on transnational corporations

Statement by the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights’ Working Group on the Working Methods and Activities of Transnational Corporations
July 31, 2002



Mr. Chairman,

Companies’ involvement in human rights violations and their failure to respect human rights in countries where they carry out their operations is, today, often matched by their unwillingness to bear any responsibility with regard to the enjoyment of all human rights. In parallel, while under international human rights law and the principle of due diligence States are responsible for guaranteeing that private entities, including companies, do not deprive individuals of their human rights, they are often unable or unwilling to do so. As a result, companies are, to date, often operating in a climate of impunity.

In this respect, the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) believes that the development of Human Rights Principles and Responsibilities for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises is of crucial importance to address the issue of companies’ responsibility for human rights violations, as well as to develop binding human rights principles with respect to companies. Indeed, OMCT would like to stress that adequate protection and remedies can only be guaranteed by binding standards on corporations, ensuring effective implementation and enforcement mechanisms and providing for a level-playing field.

OMCT therefore supports the work carried out by the working group and Professor Weissbrodt to develop the Human Rights Principles and Responsibilities for Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises and cannot, therefore, stress enough the importance of continuing this task. In this regard, OMCT will continue to collaborate with Mr. Weissbrodt and provide input to this process with regard to the content of the document and the procedures of implementation.

Filling the existing gap, under international human rights law, with regard to the protection, compensation and rehabilitation of individuals confronted with corporate complicity in human rights violations requires innovative approaches that will use existing mechanisms and create new avenues and the means needed to strike a proper balance between the primary responsibility of States to protect, respect and fulfil human rights, and companies’ responsibility in this field. In this respect, OMCT would like to stress the following points, as a basis for reflection for your future work.

In general, OMCT believes that the working groups should, in the upcoming years, devote increased attention to the implementation and enforcement of these principles, which are complementary to the development of binding human rights standards on companies.

The involvement of United Nations treaty bodies, non-conventional mechanisms –thematic procedures and country rapporteurs- and of the Sub-Commission and the Working-Group to monitor compliance with the Principles should be further developed. In this regard, OMCT would like to bring the attention of the working group to the fact that in November 2001, in its concluding observations on Indonesia, the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) expressed its concern about allegations that human rights abuses are sometimes committed by military personnel employed by businesses in Indonesia to protect their premises and avoid labour disputes. Similarly, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, after expressing concern in its August 2001 concluding observations on Honduras about the lack of legislative and administrative measures to control the negative effects of transnational companies' activities on the employment and working conditions of Honduran workers and to ensure compliance with national labour legislation, recommended that the State Party implement existing legislative and administrative measures to avoid violations of environmental and labour laws by transnational companies.

Further reflection should also be carried out with regard to the Sub-Commission and the Working Group’s role in monitoring compliance with the Principles. In this regard, the Sub-Commission and the Working Group could create a platform allowing the different actors involved in the equation to be brought together, i.e States, international and regional human rights mechanisms, non-governmental organisations and the companies themselves, in order to receive and consider information and to provide adequate protection, rehabilitation and compensation to the victims.

As an additional remark, OMCT believes that further studies and reflection should also be carried out with regard to point (f) of the Working Group’s mandate dealing with the scope of States’ responsibilities, taking into account the propositions of Mr. Eide with regard to a twofold responsibility of the host and home States.

Finally, OMCT also would like to stress the importance of linking the work carried out by the working group with other issues that are related to your mandate and that include, amongst other things, the impact of the liberalisation of trade in services on the enjoyment of human rights, notably within the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Properties

Date: August 2, 2002
Activity: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Type: Statements
Subjects: Development actors, Development projects, Economic policies, Non-state actors

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