Rules for business, rights for people – Asia demands

A guide by Friends of the Earth International advocating for a legally binding international treaty to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) accountable for human rights abuses in Asia, citing gaps in current international law that allow companies to operate with impunity across jurisdictions.

• Current international human rights law primarily focuses on state responsibilities, creating a significant legal gap regarding human rights abuses caused by the cross-border activities of corporations, which often avoid accountability due to their operation across different national jurisdictions.
• Transnational corporations are implicated in human rights abuses in Asia, including a coal mine in Bangladesh threatening a major mangrove ecosystem and a mega-sugar plantation in Sri Lanka risking the displacement of hundreds of people. These crimes often go unpunished because corporations may possess more power and wealth than the regulating states, compounded by local legal corruption.
• There is an urgent need for a legally binding international instrument (a Binding Treaty) to prevent TNCs, their investors, and financiers from acting with impunity and to provide justice for millions of affected people.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). Rules for business, rights for people – Asia demands. https://www.foei.org/publication/rules-for-business-rights-for-people-asia-demands-binding-rules-on-business/

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Rules for business, rights for people – Asia demands. n.d. https://www.foei.org/publication/rules-for-business-rights-for-people-asia-demands-binding-rules-on-business/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Rules for business, rights for people – Asia demands |url=https://www.foei.org/publication/rules-for-business-rights-for-people-asia-demands-binding-rules-on-business/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndrules, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Rules for business, rights for people – Asia demands}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/publication/rules-for-business-rights-for-people-asia-demands-binding-rules-on-business/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }