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Fourth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights

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The first and second sessions of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG) were dedicated to conducting constructive deliberations on the content, scope, nature and form of a future international instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.  During the third session, the Working Group discussed elements for a draft legally binding instrument prepared by the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the OEIGWG taking into consideration the discussions held during the first two sessions.

Based on these previous sessions, as well as a series of open informal consultations held in 2018, the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the OEIGWG, prepared a zero draft legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises, as well as a zero draft optional protocol to be annexed to the zero draft legally binding instrument. The draft treaty served as the basis for negotiations duringthe fourth session of the OEIGWG which took place from 15 to19 October 2018.

Webcast of the session is available.

Please regularly consult this webpage, as more information will be posted as it becomes available.  If you have any questions, please contact igwg-tncs@ohchr.org. 

Documents

Submissions received following the call for comments and proposals on the draft legally binding instrument

Note verbal:

Written contributions:

States:

NHRI:

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Other stakeholders

Oral Statements

Opening of the session:

General statements:

States

Observers

International Organizations

National Human Rights Institutions

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on articles 2 and 8

Introduction by the Chair

Panellists

States

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on articles 6, 7 and 13

Panellists

States

Observers

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on article 9

Panellists

States

Obervers

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on articles 10, 11 and 12

Panellists

States

Obervers

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on articles 3 and 4

Panellists

States

International Organizations

South Center

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on article 5

States

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on articles 1, 14 and 15

Panellists

States

Observers

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Panel on "The voices of the victims"

Panellists

States

International Organizations

NHRI

Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status

Closing remarks

States

International Organizations

NGO

Accreditation

Only UN Member and Observer States, specialized agencies and other international organizations, national human rights institutions with "A status" accreditation, and NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status may attend and participate in the public meetings of the OEIGWG. Others may be able to access the public gallery or side events during the session.

Accreditation requirements vary depending on the entity you will be representing.  Please consult the accreditation page to find instructions on how to properly request accreditation based on your designation.

Oral Engagement During the Session

During each segment of the Programme of Work, there will be time for discussion, during which States, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, and non-governmental organizations will be allowed to intervene, in that order.

In order to speak, specialized agencies, IGOs, NHRIs, and NGOs are requested to send an email to igwg-intervention@ohchr.org (with djamel.benkrid@un.org in copy) with the following information:

  • The session during which the oral intervention is to take place: e.g., “Tuesday morning, covering articles 6, 7, and 13;”
  • The type of organization speaking: e.g., specialized agency, IGO, NHRI, or NGO;
  • Name of the organization;
  • Name of the speaker;
  • A copy of the oral statement (if possible): to aid the interpreters and report writers.

This email should be sent during the session preceding the one the organization intends to speak at (i.e., if you would like to speak during the Tuesday afternoon session on Art. 9 – Prevention (15h – 18h), please email the request and statement by the end of Tuesday’s morning session (13h)). As with the Human Rights Council, the order of the speakers will be prioritized based on when the request was made. Speaking slots will depend on the number of requests received and the time allocated under the Programme of Work (subject to adjustment due to time management).

Please note:

  • Only NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status may make an oral statement.  Where the speaker is not from the inscribing NGO, an authorized representative from the latter must authorize this in writing.
  • To take the floor, NGO speakers should use the conference-table seats reserved for that purpose.
  • In order to allow for the largest possible number of substantive contributions, participants are kindly requested to limit their interventions to be as concise and succinct as possible. A time limit for each intervention may need to be imposed, at the discretion of the Chair, depending on the number of speakers for each panel.
  • Abusive or disrespectful language or derogatory and inflammatory remarks by any participant will not be tolerated during the session. All participants should ensure that a sense of respect and tolerance permeates the discussion.
  • All statements will be posted as received on OHCHR’s website following the conclusion of the session. If the statement delivered is substantially different from the document initially received by the secretariat or if you do not wish the statement to be published online, please inform the secretariat.  In line with the OHCHR disability policy, oral interventions without written scripts cannot be shared on the website.

Side Events

Conference rooms XXI, XXIII, XXIV, and XXVII are reserved for side events during the fourth session (Room XXI will have events only Tuesday – Thursday). The table of side events during the week is available.

Guests of side event organizers can find information on how to get access to the event through the fourth session accreditation page.

Side event flyers and concept notes:

Intersessional Consultations

During the intersessional period between the third and fourth sessions, the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the OEIGWG, held a series of consultations both on process and on substance.

Open Consultations: Invitation to a series of open consultations on the implementation of resolution 26/9: English | French | Spanish

Ambassadorial Meeting: Note Verbale regarding the meeting

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