Ref. Ares(2018)4886847 - 24/09/2018
INFORMAL TPC S&I
SOFIA, 7-8 MAY 2018
Non paper:
Business and human rights - possible implications on investment policy
This paper presents the state of play of the discussions on a
possible binding Treaty on business and human rights which are taking place at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, as
well as the key implications from an investment policy perspective. Depending on the
dynamics of the multilateral agenda on this topic, more detailed technical discussions may be
required in the coming months.
1.
BACKGROUND
In 2014, a
UN General Assembly Resolution established an open-ended intergovernmental
working group (OEIWG) with the mandate to “
elaborate an international legally binding
instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational
corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises (OBEs)”.
The latest meeting, which took place in October 2017, was focused on discussing
draft
Elements for the proposed content of the Treaty (see
Annex 1), as a
scoping exercise for
the future binding instrument.
A first
draft of the Legally Binding Instrument (LBI) on business and human rights is to be
proposed in 2018, which means that the next session of the OEIWG will be dedicated to a
text-based discussion.
2.
KEY ISSUES AND OPTIONS FROM AN INVESTMENT POLICY PERSPECTIVE
A
draft elements paper ("Elements") was circulated at the latest OEIWG session as a scoping
exercise for the future LBI. The document reflects various inputs provided by the UN
countries which previously participated in the discussions
. It provides a useful overview of
the main topics and issues that could be brought at the negotiations table.
2
The
various options regarding the future LBI are currently being formulated and discussed
by EEAS in coordination with the Member States (COHOM). They concern a wide range of
matters,
3