ORAL INTERVENTION
of the International Commission of Jurists and the Australian Human Rights Council in conjunction with Franciscans International, the International Service for Human Rights and
the International Federation on Human Rights
BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr Chairman,
I am speaking on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists and the Australian Human Rights Council and with the support of Franciscans International, the International Service for Human Rights and the International Federation of Human Rights.
Over the past years - as victims have been seeking justice and remedies - an increasing number of cases of business companies involved in serious human rights violations have been documented: business companies assisting the apartheid regime in South Africa; oil companies complicit in the destruction of the Ogoni land in Nigeria; the Unocal and Total corporations complicit in gross human rights violations committed by the armed forces of Burma; the Bhopal disaster with its 7,000 dead and thousands more suffering.
The growing acknowledgement of the powerful impact that businesses may have on the enjoyment of human rights, both negative and positive, has underlined the need for the Commission to address the issue by establishing a special mechanism.
We wish draw your attention to the report of the High Commissioner under this agenda item on the question of business and human rights. We concur with the report’s conclusion that there are gaps in understanding business responsibilities with regard to human rights and that there is growing interest in discussing further a UN statement of universal human rights standards applicable to business.
Mr Chairman,
We are encouraged to see the emerging willingness of the member states of the Commission to address the gravity of the issue and to appoint a high level expert. However, we fear that rather than building on last year’s achievements, the Commission’s commitment is declining. At its last session the Commission clearly acknowledged that business activities are a matter of human rights concern, and spoke of strengthening standards and of possible means of implementation.
We call on the Commission to live up to its promise and to endow the Special Representative with a meaningful mandate that will allow us to move forward towards the development, and eventually adoption, of common international standards for the responsibilities of businesses with regard to human rights.
The focus of the mandate should be on human rights. What is needed is an analysis of existing legal standards and mechanisms for the protection of victims and affected communities, of possible additional measures to strengthen implementation of these standards and mechanisms, and alternatives for addressing protection needs not adequately covered by existing instruments.
Thus, the Special Representative must have outstanding expertise in human rights law.
The rights of victims and affected communities must be at the centre of the exercise. No multistakeholder consultations should be held without the input of those who know about the obstacles to obtain justice and accountability.
Mr Chairman,
The Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with regard to Human Rights, elaborated by the Sub-Commission, should play a key role in the mandate of the Special Representative. They are not one among many instruments, but constitute the only instrument that addresses this issue comprehensively.
Thank you Mr Chairman.