ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE JUSTICE FOR ALL

The fact sheet advocates for a binding UN Human Rights Treaty to close the gap in international law where corporations escape accountability for cross-border activities. It contrasts the strong legal protections afforded to corporate rights via free trade agreements and investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) with the lack of legal recourse for victims of corporate abuse. The document provides examples of corporate misconduct in El Salvador, Nigeria, Colombia, and Indonesia, highlighting issues such as water pollution, gas flaring, land-grabbing, and deforestation, while arguing that voluntary corporate responsibility codes are insufficient.

• There is a significant gap in international law regarding human rights abuses resulting from the cross-border activities of corporations, as these companies often operate across different national jurisdictions to avoid accountability.
• Corporate rights are strongly protected by binding international agreements, including free trade and investment agreements and investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) processes, the latter of which allows corporations to sue governments in private tribunals if policies negatively impact profits.
• In El Salvador, a mining company used ISDS to sue the government for 301 million dollars after the president stopped issuing mining permits due to water pollution.
• In Nigeria's Niger Delta, the French company Total has continued the illegal practice of gas flaring since 1984 and has been involved in land seizures from the Egi clan without compensation.
• The El Cerrejon open pit coal mine in Colombia, involving Anglo American, consumes 17 million 7 litres of water per day, while local residents in Alta Guajira consume only 0.7 litres per day, far below the UN recommendation of 50-100 litres.
• Wilmar International has engaged in deforestation and land-grabbing in Nigeria since 2010, acquiring tens of thousands of hectares of land despite promises to stop and despite the ESG criteria of its financiers, including HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE JUSTICE FOR ALL. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Why-we-need-a-treaty-for-TNCs-and-human-rights.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE JUSTICE FOR ALL. n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Why-we-need-a-treaty-for-TNCs-and-human-rights.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE JUSTICE FOR ALL |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Why-we-need-a-treaty-for-TNCs-and-human-rights.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndroad, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE JUSTICE FOR ALL}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Why-we-need-a-treaty-for-TNCs-and-human-rights.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }