Global Policy Forum

On the occasion of the current open informal consultations in Geneva on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (“UN-Treaty”) more than 430 civil society organizations globally have signed a letter to UN Member States. They call on all UN Member States to engage without delay in this stage of the process in active and constructive negotiations of the substance of the treaty to improve the human rights of communities and people affected by the operations of TNCs and OBEs and their access to effective remedy, and to put an end to corporate impunity for human rights abuses.

"There are increasing warnings of an imminent new financial crisis, not only from the billionaire investor George Soros, but also from eminent economists associated with the Bank for International Settlements, the bank of central banks. The warnings come at a moment when there are signs of international capital flowing out of some emerging economies, including Turkey, Argentina and Indonesia. Some economists have been warning that the boom-bust cycle in capital flows to developing countries will cause disruption, when there is a turn from boom to bust," analyzes South Centre's Executive Director Martin Khor.

In den letzten Jahrzehnten haben Regierungen eine Reihe von Maßnahmen initiiert, um Unternehmen zur Einhaltung von Menschenrechten in ihren Aktivitäten zu bewegen. Seit Jahren versuchen Interessenvertretungen der Wirtschaft, verbindliche Regeln im Bereich Wirtschaft und Menschenrechte international und national zu verhindern – mit Erfolg. In Deutschland zeigte sich dies im Jahr 2016, als die deutschen Unternehmensvertretungen alle Hebel in Bewegung setzten, jegliche Verbindlichkeit im deutschen Nationalen Aktionsplan für Wirtschaft und Menschenrechte (NAP) zu verhindern. Ein neues Briefing von Brot für die Welt, Global Policy Forum und MISEREOR veranschaulicht, wie die Wirtschaftslobby die Einführung einer menschenrechtlichen Sorgfaltspflicht der Wirtschaft verhinderte. Es zeigt auf, wie die Unternehmensverbände versuchen, ähnliche Regelungen auf internationaler Ebene, darunter dem Europarat, bei der OECD und im Menschenrechtsrat der Vereinten Nationen abzuwehren.

To implement the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many in the international community have addressed the financing gap, proclaiming the need to go from “billions to trillions” of dollars. This has pushed a turn towards the private sector and the promotion of ‘blended financing’ as a major way to ‘leverage’ corporate funds to meet any additional investments needed. In many cases there is no lack of additional investments, but more quality investments would appear to figure less frequently. The transformation of our world as proclaimed in the title of the 2030 Agenda requires fundamental changes in the way our societies produce and consume goods and services. At the international level, instruments to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses and the violation of social and environmental standards are weak. Victims of human rights violations by corporations often face insurmountable barriers to access justice. A regulation gap exists especially with regard to corporations operating transnationally. Against this background, the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution of 26 June 2014 establishing an open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG) to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate within the scope of international human rights law and the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises deserve to be called historic. At this public event the panelists will discuss how a binding treaty could overcome obstacles for remedy in cases of cross-border human rights violations by TNCs. It will further inform about the state of the treaty process and next steps to be taken.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) has defined the follow-up process for the Financing for Development process as well as the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This includes assessing progress, obstacles, challenges as well as new and emerging topics of relevance, and “provide policy recommendations for action by the international community” (para. 131). At a side-event during the 2018 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follo-up, participants are invited to provide their insights into their assessment of previous FfD Fora, their link with other international processes, and discuss with participants about opportunities and challenges, also with view to the upcoming High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development of the General Assembly in 2019. The format of the side event will be highly interactive. After a short framing presentation, the moderator will facilitate active dialogue with a small panel of respondents and the audience.

In 2014, following a resolution initiated by Ecuador and South Africa, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations decided by a majority vote to establish a process to create a human rights treaty to regulate business activity. Since 2015, the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights has convened three times, and substantial discussion about the scope and content of the prospective treaty has taken place. It is now time to explore the possible forms of such an instrument and set out the options for the way forward in the process. Good rules and procedures can make treaty negotiations move more effectively forward and open doors to getting the best advice and text into an agreement. The substance of an agreement and the procedures to achieve that agreement are closely inter-connected. Consequently, this paper has three parts. The first and second parts look at the choice of contents and format of the agreement. The third part provides options for the institutional settings needed with regard to a bureau, the HRC Secretariat, the relationship to other UN entities and processes, and the financial questions to be solved. It also elaborates on the options for the drafting process itself with regard to the drafting of the text, the structure, and the timetable of negotiations. The third part further assesses the options for participation of civil society organizations and business.

The United Nations face a funding dilemma. On the one hand, member states continue to transfer new responsibilities to the UN system, not least in implementing the 2030 Agenda and their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); on the other hand, they do not match these mandates with adequate resources. Some see the way out of this financial mess in reinforced UN partnerships with private donors and their foundations. The UN Foundation (UNF) plays a special role here. It was established by US billionaire Ted Turner two decades ago principally to champion and support the work of the United Nations.The Global Policy Forum, in cooperation with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, has taken a closer look at the work of the UNF and its special relationship with the UN in a new working paper. It describes the origins and the evolution of the UNF and its relationship with the UN. It shows that, in pursuing this aim, the Foundation appears to have developed a business model and growth strategy that primarily promote its own priorities, activities and expansion, while the direct financial support to the UN decreased significantly. The UNF’s support of the UN must also be seen in context. Ted Turner and the UNF leadership have a clear vision of the way to tackle global problems and the role the UN should play, centred solidly on public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder approaches. The UNF has been among the driving forces behind the opening of the UN towards the business sector. The working paper examines benefits, risks and side effects of these trends, and ends with a few findings and conclusions.

Die Vereinten Nationen (UN) und viele ihrer Sonderorganisationen befinden sich seit Jahren in einer strukturellen Finanzierungskrise. Es besteht eine zunehmende Diskrepanz zwischen den Anforderungen der Mitgliedstaaten an die UN und den ihr zur Verfügung gestellten Mitteln. In den letzten Jahren konnte ein Trend weg von Pflicht- und flexibel einsetzbaren Beiträgen der UN-Mitgliedstaaten hin zu freiwilligen und zweckgebundenen Mitteln einer Vielzahl von Gebern beobachtet werden. Im Zuge dieses Trends verfügen die einzelnen Geber, ob öffentlich oder privat, über einen wachsenden Spielraum zur Einflussnahme auf die Arbeit der UN-Organisationen. Besonders deutlich ist dies im Fall der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO). Als Reaktion auf die Finanzierungsprobleme schlug UN-Generalsekretär António Guterres im Juni 2017 im Rahmen des Reformprozesses zur Neustrukturierung des UN-Entwicklungssystems die Schaffung eines sogenannten Funding Compact vor, eines Finanzierungspaktes zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten und dem UN-Entwicklungssystem.

Die Regierungen haben ein eigenständiges Ziel zur Reduzierung von Ungleichheiten sowohl innerhalb als auch zwischen Ländern in den Katalog der 17 SDGs aufgenommen – eine der größten qualitativen Neuerungen der Agenda 2030 gegenüber den MDGs. SDG 10 ist Ausdruck des in den letzten Jahren enorm gesteigerten Interesses in Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Politik am komplexen Phänomen der sozialen wie ökonomischen, der horizontalen und intersektionalen Ungleichheiten. Mit dem vorliegenden Arbeitspapier werden SDG10 und die daraus zu ziehenden Schlussfolgerungen genauer unter die Lupe genommen. Es beschreibt die verschiedenen Formen ökonomischer, sozialer und politischer Ungleichheiten und die damit verbundenen Indikatoren. Und es erörtert, welche Ansatzpunkte und Politikinstrumente es gibt, um Ungleichheit zu reduzieren – und damit der Verwirklichung der Agenda 2030 einen Schritt näher zu kommen. Denn ohne die Verringerung von Ungleichheiten innerhalb und zwischen Ländern werden sich auch die anderen Ziele der Agenda 2030 kaum realisieren lassen.

A public panel organized by RLS-NYC, DAWN, GPF and Social Watch on March 12, 2018, will discuss the multiple roles of rural women and girls for enhancing food sovereignty, preserving biodiversity, reducing inequalities, and combating climate change. Presentations will affirm the importance of engaging women in policy-making around more equitable and sustainable production and consumption. Panelists will offer perspectives from the local level, addressing challenges such as intellectual property rights and land ownership for small-scale women farmers. We will also discuss the opportunities and shortcomings of a human rights approach and global advocacy efforts to increasing women's participation in decision-making to tackle poverty, malnutrition, and environmental degradation. Additionally, the panel will discuss approaches to advancing gender equality for rural women by analyzing the challenges small-scale women farmers face due to economic stressors such as food insecurity, hunger, and poverty.