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 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...
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...