IBFAN Oral Statement on Panel V - Obligations of States to guarantee the respect of human rights by TNCs and other business enterprises, including ETOs

Thank you Chairperson. 

I am speaking on behalf of the International Baby Food Action Network, the Pesticide Action Network Asia and Pacific, Brot für die Welt, Friends of the Earth Europe and the Global Policy Forum, members of the Treaty Alliance, as well as on behalf of the Society for International Development.

Most violations of human rights derived from activities of corporations are occurring outside of their home countries. Let us take the example of the country which hosts this present session, Switzerland. Switzerland is home for many corporations with a transnational character, including the well known Syngenta and Nestlé. 

Syngenta produces a highly hazardous pesticide name “paraquat” which continuously poisons thousands of plantation workers and farmers who spray it without any protection and without having been trained to reduce risks. These workers suffer acute and chronic poisonings including chronic respiratory disease. Some of them even died after having used paraquat since there is no antidote. In addition, children who live around these plantations are also exposed and suffer negative effects. However, Syngenta continues to produce and sell this product knowing that it seriously endangers health, therefore violating the right to health of exposed communities. 

Meanwhile, Nestlé, Swiss industrial flagship and so-called “Health & Wellness” company, has been violating the WHO Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes since decades. Last year, IBFAN released a monitoring report in which Nestlé’s offences in this regard are presented in more than 40 pages. In 2013, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its General Comment No 15 on the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, set a direct obligations on private companies, providing that « among other responsibilities and in all contexts » they should comply with the WHO Code and the relevant subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions. Even though Nestlé has been repeatedly informed about the systematic violations of the Code identified by IBFAN as well as about the obligation set by the General Comment No 15, the company did not improve its practices. 

Unfortunately, Switzerland has failed to regulate appropriately the conduct of corporations domiciled on its territory and/or jurisdiction and thus, has left Syngenta and Nestlé free to perpetrate their abuses abroad. 

States have the obligation to protect citizens against harm derived from the activities of companies based in their territory and/or jurisdiction. Children are particularly vulnerable and damages affecting them are often irreversible, as highlighted by Dr. Kotrane. Therefore, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has explicitly affirmed that obligations of States should include protection of child’s rights beyond their territorial borders. In particular, States must ensure that all business enterprises, including transnational corporations operating within their borders, are adequately regulated and do not adversely impact on children’s rights in foreign jurisdictions. Other HRTBs including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, have also called upon States to regulate the extraterritorial actions of third parties registered in their territory. 

The Maastricht Principles further clarify extraterritorial obligations of States, in particular the obligation to protect. Therefore, a legally binding instrument should seek inspiration from Principles 24 and 25. Finally, a legally binding instrument should oblige States to ensure effective judicial remedy for those affected by corporate misconduct. 

Thank you.

IBFAN Oral Statement on Panel IV - Scope: Human rights to be covered under the Instrument

Thank you Chairperson. 

I am speaking on behalf of the International Baby Food Action Network and the Pesticide Action Network Asia, both members of the Treaty Alliance. 

As highlighted by human rights experts as well as by our networks engaged with communities on the ground, corporate abuses affect the whole range of human rights defined in the core human rights instruments, from civil and political to economic, social and cultural rights.

 Our organizations have documented a great number of cases in which people’s health has been negatively affected, children’s development has been jeopardized, food and water have been contaminated and natural resources depleted by activities of business enterprises. Their activities, which include the production and use of highly hazardous chemicals and pesticides, do not only cause direct harm to populations and damage the environment. They also lead to long-term negative impacts on health that are sometimes irreversible and intergenerational.

Misleading marketing causes long-term effects on people’s health and development. For example, when baby food companies promote their breastmilk substitutes in violation with the WHO Code, they undermine breastfeeding optimal practices, therefore exposing infants and young children to a greater risk of mortality and compromising their future health, growth and wellbeing. 

We would like to reiterate that all human rights are universal and inalienable as well as interdependent and indivisible. A treaty that would cover only a narrow scope of human rights would be meaningless to the affected people. Therefore, the future treaty should incorporate all human rights contained in the core human rights conventions as well as the relevant ILO conventions, in particular those related to labour rights, maternity protection, rights of indigenous people, and agricultural and migrant workers. Thank you.