International Investment Agreements, Business and Human Rights

This 2008 research paper examines how International Investment Agreements (IIAs) and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms may constrain the ability of states to protect and promote human rights. It finds that most IIAs are silent on human rights obligations for investors and that the confidentiality of arbitration processes often undermines public accountability. The author argues that stabilization clauses in Host Government Agreements further limit the state's right to regulate and recommends the creation of model language to integrate human rights values into future investment treaties.

• The vast majority of the over 2,500 existing International Investment Agreements (IIAs) are silent on human rights obligations for foreign investors. Only a few examples exist where human rights are mentioned, such as the 2002 European Free Trade Area-Singapore Agreement, which includes a preambular commitment to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 2007 COMESA Agreement, which lists respect for human rights as a possible future working item for its implementation committee.
• IIAs typically provide foreign investors with specific international law rights—such as national treatment, most favoured nation treatment, fair and equitable treatment, and protection against expropriation without compensation—which can constrain a host state's duty to protect and promote human rights. These rights are often enforced through investor-state arbitration, a process that allows private investors to initiate claims directly against states, often in confidential settings.
• The investor-state arbitration process is characterized by a lack of transparency and institutional structure, which the author argues can displace transparent domestic judicial processes and undermine democratic rights. While Canada and the US have begun including transparency requirements in new agreements (such as public notice of claims and open hearings), many arbitrations under UNCITRAL or ICSID rules remain confidential.

APA

Mann, H. (2008). International Investment Agreements, Business and Human Rights. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iia_business_human_rights.pdf

Chicago

Mann, Howard. International Investment Agreements, Business and Human Rights. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2008. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iia_business_human_rights.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mann |first1=Howard |title=International Investment Agreements, Business and Human Rights |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2008 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iia_business_human_rights.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mann2008international, author = {Mann, Howard}, title = {{International Investment Agreements, Business and Human Rights}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2008}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/iia_business_human_rights.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }