...CAFOD has for years been calling for tougher rules for companies to stop them profiting from deforestation, modern slavery, pollution, land grabs and attacks on human rights... We’re working with partners who are supporting communities impacted by big business – some of these case studies are in CAFOD’s report...

Viviana Tacha, Director of CAFOD’s partner Siembra in Colombia, joined us to outline the importance of a Treaty for communities defending their right to say “no” to a huge gold mine which an international mining company intends to build on their land...

Father Vincent de Paul from RECOWA... also joined us, [saying]... “The crisis we are facing in Africa, and West Africa in particular, are the results of the hegemony of profit over human rights and dignity.”

...Marina Oliviera, a community member affected by the Brumadinho dam collapse in Brazil in 2019, which killed 270 people [said]...

“We, communities affected by large multinational corporations, are in a hurry because we are dying. We don’t want to die. We need the international community to hold accountable those who are contaminating our water, air and soils and taking the lives of our brothers and sisters, and to ensure proper reparation.”

...If a strong text is agreed, it would address some of the inequalities in our global economic system, by regulating the activities of corporations active outside the territory of a state and ensuring that states’ legal systems work together to punish companies that harm human rights.

What I learned is that after eight years, there’s been a huge amount of progress (for instance, the question for most states now is not whether we need greater regulation – it’s about what it looks like) but we’re still far from seeing a Treaty agreed.

The process has become quite messy (more on that from CIDSE, here). One of the stock phrases of the week was: “Negotiations should be based on the third revised draft.” That’s because the Chair, Ecuador, had produced completely new proposals on some articles of the Treaty very late in the day... and this new text seems to be seriously watering down some of the key provisions of the Treaty...

Unfortunately... the UK... stated on... Monday that they wouldn’t be supporting the draft text and then did not engage in negotiations for the rest of the week... [E]ven the USA and the EU were at least in the room negotiating on the text and meeting with civil society...

In more positive news, there were strong calls from civil society and southern states, with Palestine most vocal, both on the content – to retain essential elements on access to justice and liability – and to keep the negotiations transparent and democratic.

CAFOD is clear that we need the UK to step up: to constructively negotiate for a strong Treaty that would provide justice to those affected by corporate abuse, and to put forward ambitious national legislation... Otherwise, it risks being left behind by other states and becoming a laggard on business and human rights...