The Environmental Law Dimensions of an International Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights

Resumo

Multinational Corporations are present in virtually every corner of the world, generating not only economic growth but foremost human rights abuses linked to environmental degradation. In view of this, the United Nations Human Rights Council mandated an intergovernmental working group to draft a binding instrument on business and human rights, potentially drawing obligations for private commercial entities with a transnational character. In that context, an analysis of the on-going negotiations will be conducted to identify and discuss the environmental law dimensions embedded therein. A dialogue between the content of the travaux préparatoires of the treaty’s drafting process including the official reports of the three sessions and other relevant documents and the evolution of international corporate environmental accountability, will yield some possible pathways for environmental protection linked to human rights. Furthermore, special importance will be given to discussions with respect to the obligations of corporations and its implications for the protection of the environment. Some findings will show that the current state of negotiations falls short in reflecting environmental dimensions from a legal perspective, although the tools that might be developed in the process could be moulded as to integrate them in forthcoming negotiations.