This round of negotiations comes at a critical moment for the EU. It is expected to release a draft law later this year, which would require companies to address risks of human rights violations and environmental harm in their global value chains.

… [C]hatter about an ‘alternative approach’ risks undermining years of diligent deliberation undertaken by an inclusive global coalition, often led by Global South nations… the US, Japan, China and EU seemingly toying with the idea of an alternative approach is of great concern.

Discussions around use of certain terms started early, but the distinction between ‘responsibilities’ and ‘obligations’ remains contested.

… The EU delegation took the floor to reaffirm that although it is in no position to negotiate, it would be ‘very difficult to imagine that a final version of the instrument would be without a solid reference to a gender perspective.’…

Cameroon led the way with helpful suggestions to spell out the primacy of human rights law over all other legal instruments, including those related to trade and investment, and to clarify that business enterprises also have obligations under international human rights law.

However, some member states took a different approach. Brazil sought to remove the reference to ILO Convention 190 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment at work, while China, Iran and Egypt wanted to delete ‘human rights defenders’ from the draft.

In response to criticism from the US and China, the EU intervened again to make a case for including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, despite still not having a negotiating mandate…

Afternoon sessions zeroed in on the definition of ‘business activities’…

Some delegates wanted to broaden the definition of ‘business relationship’ to cover all entities along global value chains, even where the relationship is not contractual.

… Russia, China, Egypt, Iran and Cuba, defend[ed] the need to narrow the scope by excluding domestic business…

…[T]he EU and Mexico [favoured] a broader scope. The EU delegate stressed that all business enterprises should be covered by the treaty, irrespective of their field of operation…

Regarding the human rights and environmental standards to be respected by business under the treaty, the US and Russia raised objections…

In spite of the EU’s lack of negotiating mandate and yesterday’s ‘flirting’ with the idea of an alternative approach, the EU generally struck a different tone today. Whenever it took the floor to make substantive inputs, the delegation defended fundamental human rights…