ETOs - for human right beyond borders

The 4^th session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG) on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights took place from the 15-19 October. The session evolved around the negotiation of a “zero draft” legally binding instrument as well as a draft optional protocol presented by the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the working group prior to the session. The session therefore represented the first moment of negotiations in the process, with...

During its 64^th session, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reviewed the 6^th periodic report of Germany. In its concluding observations, the CESCR made several recommendations pertaining to Germany’s ETOs.

The Committee is concerned at the exclusively voluntary nature of the corporate due diligence obligations set out in the German National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights regarding respect for human rights and the lack of monitoring mechanisms in this regard...

The recently appointed Spanish Minister of Justice, Dolores Delgado, announced this week her government's intention to re-establish legislation in force between 1985 and 2009 which provided for universal jurisdiction for certain international crimes. Since then, this legislation has been restricted during successive governments meaning that today Spanish courts only have jurisdiction for cases of crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide if these are directed against a Spanish citizen or...