National:
Establish primacy of human rights

Reaffirm and operationalize through national and international human rights law the need for human rights to be upheld by States and respected by transnational corporations as well as their subsidiaries, controlled companies and any entity in their global value chain and their representatives. Uphold clear guidance on what is considered a violation of human rights and what the appropriate punishments are for violations.

Provide access to justice and remedy for affected people and workers in the home and host country of the transnational corporation, and in any other country where it has substantive assets, or in a dedicated international jurisdiction such as an international court on transnational corporations and human rights.

What does this look like?

• Establish the primacy of human rights, and enshrine:

  • The primal obligation of a State and its representatives to protect these rights and develop the appropriate national legislation to secure its implementation.

  • A corporation’s legal obligation to respect human rights as well as the common good, not subject to any law of the originating country providing immunity to transnational corporations operating in other countries.

  • Mechanisms for individuals or entities to hold polluters liable for violating these rights.

• Adopt measures that facilitate a transition to a non-polluting system, including policies and practices that:

  • Ensure people are aware of their rights.

  • Provide what is necessary to conserve the environment, rehabilitate it, and repair the damage.

  • Ensure violations of these rights will not happen again.

• Clearly define in law what is considered a violation of these rights, and the civil, criminal, financial, administrative or any other type of action that can be taken when violations occur.

• In creating guidelines for how to define a violation of human rights in national law, governments should take into account:

  • The Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law adopted in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly.[1]

  • The obligation to respect, ensure respect for and implement international human rights law and international humanitarian law, drawing from guidance and agreements such as the Human Rights Committee,[2] the Committee against Discrimination against Women,[3] the Guidelines on Responsible Governance of the Land, Fisheries and Forests,[4] the Declaration of Indigenous Rights (UNDRIP),[5] and the Declaration of Peasant Rights and Other People working in Rural Areas.[6]

  • A victims’ right to remedies, including:

    • Access to justice.

    • Reparation for harm suffered.

    • Access to relevant information concerning violations and reparation mechanisms.

  • The updated set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity (impunity principles) endorsed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (succeeded by the Human Rights Council in 2006).[7] Some important concepts include:

    • General obligations of States to take effective action to combat impunity.

    • The inalienable right to the truth.

    • The establishment and role of truth commissions.

    • Jurisdiction of international and internationalized criminal tribunals.

    • Measures for strengthening the effectiveness of international legal principles concerning universal and international jurisdiction.

    • Restrictions on prescription.

    • Rights and duties arising out of the obligation to make reparation.

    • Reparation procedures that allow for restitution, compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of non-repetition.

    • Publicizing reparation procedures.

    • Scope of the right to reparation.

• Establish the liability of parent and outsourcing companies over the activities of their subsidiaries, controlled companies and any entity in their global value chain

  • Read this briefing on France’s “duty of vigilance” law, passed in 2017, which provides a ground-breaking precedent for this.[8] Though imperfect in large part due to corporate lobbying, should continue to be built upon.

• Expand the legal obligation of corporations to include CEOs, managers, and those in positions of power within corporations.

• Adopt legislation that enshrines climate commitments made at institutions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change into law so that corporations can be held accountable to respect them.