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

On 26 June 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9, in which it decided "to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises."

Since, the open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG) has had eight sessions (see history of the process below). 

The eighth session of the OEIGWG took place from 24 to 28 October 2022 in room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva. During the State-led negotiations, the Chair encouraged delegations to make textual proposals on the various provisions of the third revised text with concrete textual suggestions and of the Chair’s informal proposals for Articles 6-13 in line with the adopted programme of work for the eighth session and the letters from the Chair of 7 September 2022 and 6 October 2022 that outlined the modalities of the session.

Following the session, and as noted in a letter of 24 November 2022, the Chair shared the commentary delivered at the eighth session on the informal proposals (also available in Spanish), as well as a table indicating where elements of the third revised draft may be found in those proposals.

Recordings of the eighth session are available on UN Web TV.

Information about the intersessional activities between the eighth and ninth sessions is available on the ninth session webpage.

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

• Report on the eighth session of the OEIGWG (A/HRC/52/41)
  • Text of the third revised draft legally binding instrument with the textual proposals submitted by States during the seventh session (A/HRC/52/41/add.1)
  • Suggested Chair proposals with the concrete textual proposals submitted by States during the eighth session (A/HRC/WG.16/8/CRP.2)
• Compilations of statements presented during the eighth session:
  • General statements from States and non-State stakeholders
  • Statements delivered by States during the State-led negotiations
  • Statements delivered by non-State stakeholders during the State-led negotiations
• Third revised draft legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises
• Suggested Chair Proposals for Select Articles of the LBI (A/HRC/WG.16/8/CRP.1)
  • Commentary delivered at the 8th session explaining the Chair Proposals (also available in Spanish)
  • Table indicating where elements of the 3rd revised draft may be found in the Chair Proposals
• Programme of work for the eighth session
• Technical note on the organization of the 8th session
• Letter of the Chair-Rapporteur of November 2022 regarding the commentary and table on the Chair Proposals
• Letter of the Chair-Rapporteur of October 2022 regarding suggested proposals for select articles of the LBI
• Letter of the Chair-Rapporteur of September 2022 regarding OEIGWG developments
• A/HRC/WG.16/8/1: Provisional agenda for the 8th session

All statements made during the eighth session that were shared with the Secretariat are available on the oral statements page.

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 participate in the public meetings of the OEIGWG. Please consult the participation page for information regarding interventions during the eighth session.

Conference rooms XXI and XXV were reserved for side events during the eighth session. Please consult the table of side events to see when and where each side event took place.

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.

Accreditation requirements vary depending on the entity represented. Please consult the accreditation page for the instructions regarding accreditation for the eighth session.

All registration and accreditation requests must have been made online through UNOG’s Indico system.

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.

During the fourth session, the Working Group's discussions focused on a zero draft legally binding instrument, as well as a zero draft optional protocol to be annexed to the zero draft legally binding instrument.

During the fifth session, a revised draft of the legally binding instrument served as the basis for negotiations.

During the sixth session, a second revised draft of the legally binding instrument served as the basis for negotiations.

During the seventh session, a third revised draft of the legally binding instrument served as the basis for negotiations.