Originally posted by the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
At the end of the 11th session of negotiations for a United Nations treaty to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) accountable for their human rights violations (Binding Treaty), the voices of those fighting for justice, accountability, and a peoples-centred multilateralism were heard throughout the halls of the UN.
The Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity (Global Campaign) brought the voices of social movements, civil society organisations, trade unions and communities affected by the activities of transnational corporations, reminding negotiators of the lives at stake with these negotiations.
Pierre Maison from La Via Campesina said:
“The Binding Treaty must break from the failed model of corporate self-regulation and establish clear, enforceable obligations for transnational corporations. We have been advocating for years that this Treaty must create an international tribunal where TNCs will be held accountable for their human rights violations. In this session, for the first time, states like Colombia, Mozambique and Palestine have also supported the proposal.”
Leticia Paranhos from Friends of the Earth Brazil and Friends of the Earth International said:
“One of our priorities here is preventing corporate interests from watering down the treaty through false solutions like corporate voluntarism. That is why, in addition to advocating for the inclusion of direct obligations for companies in these negotiations, we will be present at the climate COP30, opposing false solutions from corporations and building real solutions at the Peoples’ Summit, solutions that put life and people at the center.”
Antonio Salvador from the Asian Task Force on the Binding Treaty said:
“Our collective responsibility is to defend ambition over accommodation. Lowering the treaty’s standards to attract those who have historically resisted any binding obligation, like certain Global North states, would not strengthen the process; it would betray it. States must now act with courage, advancing a text built from the grassroots that establishes legally binding regulations and the primacy of human rights over trade and investment rules. Global South countries are ready to lead the transformation of the international law system. It will start by making TNCs accountable for their human rights violations.”
State delegations maintain a strong presence in this unique negotiation process, with over 60 countries participating this year. Contributions from Global South countries are now pushing to make the treaty the cornerstone of a new multilateralism, founded on human dignity and peoples’ sovereignty.
Grace Tepula / Zakithi Sibandze / Precious Shonga / Lungisa Huna from the Rural Women’s Assembly said:
“We, as Indigenous small-scale farmers and peasants, have the right to food and food sovereignty, the right to protect our Indigenous seeds, and to our cultural and traditional knowledge. Yet TNCs steal our seeds, criminalize us for sharing and multiplying them, poison our lands, and destroy our rivers and biodiversity. Our seeds are our life, our identity, and our heritage — and we will continue to fight for our right to retain and protect them. Why are these corporations allowed to have a voice in these negotiations? Their lobby groups threaten Global South states and even attacked the Chair-Rapporteur himself this year. The fox cannot guard the henhouse — as we expose in the Global Campaign’s latest report — and the presence of corporate organizations like the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in this process is an obscene conflict of interest”
The week ended with the unanimous approval of the concluding recommendations by the Chair Rapporteur from the state of Ecuador. The groundwork for 2026 was laid out, including three intersessional thematic consultations and the 12th session in October 2026 to advance the discussion on the key articles of the future treaty.
The Global Campaign remains vigilant to the corporate lobby and the states trying to obstruct these negotiations and dismantle the content that can truly hold TNCs accountable. It is committed to continuing to advance these historical UN negotiations that are bringing renewed energy to the multilateral system and ensuring that human rights prevail over corporate profits.
NOTE TO EDITORS
For further information or to arrange interviews with spokespeople you can contact:
Sol Trumbo Vila: soltrumbovila[a]tni.org
Ghislaine Fandel: ghislaine[a]foei.org
Raffaele Morgantini: raffaele[a]cetim.org
This press release is issued by the Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples’ Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity (Global Campaign), a network of over 250 social movements, civil society organisations, trade unions and communities affected by the activities of transnational corporations, representing 260 million people globally.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- UN library of official documents for the 11th Session
- Human Rights Council Procedural Decision A/HCR/56/116 adopted in July 2024 providing additional resources to the process.
- 26/9 Resolution that started this process adopted in 2014.
- Website Global Campaign to Reclaim Peoples Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and Stop Impunity.
- Report The TNC Lobby: Foxes in the Henhouse. How the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) function as the corporate lobby (“TNC Lobby”) inside the United Nations. Published 18/10/2025
- “Frontiers of an effective Binding Treaty”. Key arguments the Global Campaign puts forwards for an effective Binding Treaty
- Website Global Interparliamentarian Network in support of the Binding Treaty
- Environmental obligations for business and the Binding Treaty
