Who is afraid of a binding treaty? Stumbling Blocks on the Accountability of Transnational Corporations by Sara Martinetto

Editor's note: Sara Martinetto is an intern at T.M.C. Asser Institute. She has recently completed her LLM in Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam. She holds interests in Migration Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights and European Law, with a special focus on their transnational dimension.

 

Since the adoption by the UN Human Rights Council of Resolution 26/9 in 2014, an Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group (WG) is working on a binding Treaty capable of holding transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses. Elaborating on the proposal presented by Ecuador and South Africa, the WG has been holding periodical sessions. In much trepidation for what is supposed to be the start of substantive negotiations – scheduled for October 23-27, 2017 – it is worth summarising and highlighting the struggles this new instrument is likely to encounter, and investigating whether (and how) such an agreement could foster transnational corporations’ (TNCs) human rights compliance. More...

The Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garment and Textile. Taming transnational supply chains via corporate due diligence.

The six months between 2012 and 2013 represented a turning point for the garment industry. On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh killed more than 1100 workers. Just a year before, more than 350 garment workers died in two factory fires in Pakistan and Bangladesh. These three tragedies, among the deadliest industrial disasters in recent times, generated a previously unseen level of outrage to which followed a considerable mobilisation by civil society, business communities, States, and international organisations. Apart from the horror stemming from the loss of lives, mostly of young women, the three catastrophes were particularly shocking for Western audiences as they exposed our ignorance and even complicity. It turned out that we - the consumers – turn a blind eye to the working conditions, including health and safety, of garment workers. Thereafter, it was impossible to ignore that well-known brands we regularly purchase were connected to these production sites, which were regular suppliers of many European and American clothing companies. More...

Doing Business Right Event! Supply chain regulation in the garment industry on 29 June @Asser Institute

The negative impact on human rights of what we wear is not always well-known to the consumer. Our clothing consumption has increased over five times since the Nineties. At the same time, the business model of certain fashion brands is too often dependent on widespread human rights and labour rights violations to be profitable, cheap, and fast. The 2013 tragedy of Rana Plaza, where more than 1100 garment workers died, gives us just a small hint of the true costs of our clothes and footwear. Efforts by governments to tame the negative effects of transnational supply chains have proven difficult due to the extreme delocalisation of production, and the difficulty to even be aware of a company’s last tier of suppliers in certain developing countries. More...

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The Lafarge Affair: A First Step Towards Corporate Criminal Liability for Complicity in Crimes against Humanity - By Alexandru Tofan

Editor's note: Before joining the Asser Institute as an intern, Alexandru Tofan pursued an LLM in Transnational Law at King’s College London where he focused on international human rights law, transnational litigation and international law. He also worked simultaneously as a research assistant at the Transnational Law Institute in London on several projects pertaining to human rights, labour law and transnational corporate conduct.


The recent indictment of the French multinational company ‘Lafarge’ for complicity in crimes against humanity marks a historic step in the fight against the impunity of corporations.  It represents the first time that a company has been indicted on this ground and, importantly, the first time that a French parent company has been charged for the acts undertaken by one of its subsidiaries abroad.  Notably, the Lafarge case fuels an important debate on corporate criminal liability for human rights violations and may be a game changer in this respect.  This article analyses this case and seeks to provide a comprehensive account of its background and current procedural stage. More...