By Doug Cassel and Anita Ramasastry
In July an Intergovernmental Working Group will convene at the United Nations in Geneva to begin deliberations about a proposed treaty on business and human rights. But what kind of treaty? Professor Doug Cassel teaches transnational corporations and human rights at Notre Dame Law School in the US, and Professor Anita Ramasastry teaches business and human rights at the University of Washington School of Law in the US. For the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, and the Law Society of England and Wales, they co-authored the White Paper: Options for a Treaty on Business and Human Rights (May 2015). As noted on its cover, public release of the paper is pending formal approvals by the organizations. The paper represents the views only of its authors, not of the organizations. About this Commentary At its June 2014 session, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution to launch a new inter-governmental process to draft an international treaty addressing human rights abuses involving businesses. As a contribution to international discussions on this topic, IHRB is featuring a series of personal perspectives from invited guests.
In July an Intergovernmental Working Group will convene at the United Nations in Geneva to begin deliberations about a proposed treaty on business and human rights. But what kind of treaty? Professor Doug Cassel teaches transnational corporations and human rights at Notre Dame Law School in the US, and Professor Anita Ramasastry teaches business and human rights at the University of Washington School of Law in the US. For the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, and the Law Society of England and Wales, they co-authored the White Paper: Options for a Treaty on Business and Human Rights (May 2015). As noted on its cover, public release of the paper is pending formal approvals by the organizations. The paper represents the views only of its authors, not of the organizations. About this Commentary At its June 2014 session, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution to launch a new inter-governmental process to draft an international treaty addressing human rights abuses involving businesses. As a contribution to international discussions on this topic, IHRB is featuring a series of personal perspectives from invited guests.