"UNGP+5: Where's the Party?," 14 Jun 2016

…June 16^th marks the 5^th anniversary of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Yet, violations of human and environmental rights continue, and access to justice remains as difficult as…ever…We’d like to be celebrating today…But we’re not…Because…the Guiding Principles are not official UN criteria…So States are not obliged to incorporate the…Principles into…national policy...[N]either the UN Guiding Principles, nor the related National Action Plans, have been able to hold…corporations to account…Luckily, it is not all doom and gloom. On 26 June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/09 calling for…binding rules for transnational corporations…in relation to human rights…However,the European Union, as well as other UN Members, voted first against the resolution and later tried to derail and boycott the process...We need to have a UN treaty on business and human rights that takes precedent over…trade deals…It is time for UN member states to rule over transnational corporations, and not be ruled by them...[Also refers to BHP Billiton, Chevron, Shell, Vale, and Wilmar.]