CORPORATE IMPUNITY

The document highlights the 'corporate impunity' of global companies, citing examples of environmental destruction and human rights violations in Nigeria, Colombia, and El Salvador. It argues that voluntary corporate responsibility codes are insufficient and that existing international agreements, such as investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) processes, protect corporate profits over human rights. The text advocates for a binding UN treaty to close the gap in international law regarding cross-border corporate activities.

• Transnational corporations often escape accountability for human rights abuses due to the corruption of local legal systems and the fact that some companies possess more wealth and power than the states attempting to regulate them.
• In Nigeria, the French company Total has continued the illegal practice of gas flaring since 1984, and the Egi clan has suffered land seizures and violent suppression of protests.
• The El Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, involving Anglo American, consumes 17 million litres of water daily while local residents in Alta Guajira consume an average of only 0.7 litres per day.
• Wilmar International has acquired tens of thousands of hectares of land for palm oil plantations in Nigeria since 2010, supported by financiers including HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation and BNP Paribas.
• Investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) processes allow corporations to sue governments for profit losses resulting from policy changes; for example, a mining company is suing El Salvador for 301 million dollars after the government stopped issuing mining permits due to water pollution.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). CORPORATE IMPUNITY. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foe-corp-treaty-bookletFINAL-spreads.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. CORPORATE IMPUNITY. n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foe-corp-treaty-bookletFINAL-spreads.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=CORPORATE IMPUNITY |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foe-corp-treaty-bookletFINAL-spreads.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndcorporate, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{CORPORATE IMPUNITY}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foe-corp-treaty-bookletFINAL-spreads.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }