By Busisiwe Kamolane-Kgadima

The quest for a Binding Treaty to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises accountable enters another year of negotiations. Despite the protracted process, civil society, communities, human rights defenders and many progressive states in the Global South have remained committed to developing an effective Treaty that addresses human rights abuses by TNCs. The resilience of these groups has sustained important provisions in the Treaty text, including a section on access to remedies, prevention mechanisms achieved through due diligence, centring community rights in the enforcement of critical principles of free, prior and informed consent, as well as recognition of risks faced by human rights defenders, whose lives are threatened as they seek to challenge corporate power.

While the draft Treaty text has made several progressive steps towards comprehensive protection and accountability, there remain contentious issues that threaten to steer the Treaty away from its intended purpose and effectiveness. Despite ongoing debates surrounding contentious issues relating to the Treaty, what must not remain overlooked is the urgent need for a gender-centric Treaty. Corporate human rights abuses are rarely gender neutral. Large corporations such as TNCs, are frequently implicated in reinforcing gender stereotypes, perpetuating discrimination and excluding women and sexual minorities from economic opportunities, thereby deepening gendered poverty.

Traditionally, corporations have interpreted this criticism as a call to address shortcomings in their internal gender-responsiveness toward employees. This has led to the adoption of policies and practices aimed at combating gender discrimination, sexual harassment, inequitable working conditions, unequal pay, and the underrepresentation of women. While these measures are necessary, far less attention has been paid to the impact of TNCs on women outside their direct workforce. Across the globe, millions of women are adversely affected by the operations of TNCs through the loss of, or unequal access to, land, exposure to polluted air and water, heightened risks of sexual violence and confinement to low-paid, insecure, and informal forms of employment. The harms caused by corporations have long-term and disproportionate impacts on women, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities and children. Yet paradoxically, these same vulnerable groups are the least likely to benefit from corporate activities and often face significant barriers in accessing accountability mechanisms and effective remedies. They are also frequently exposed to heightened risks of intimidation or retaliation when they demand accountability.

As negotiations toward a Binding Treaty enter their 12th year, it is more important than ever to safeguard the progress achieved thus far, while decisively addressing the gaps that remain. One critical gap is the absence of a truly gender-centred Treaty to hold corporations accountable. Such a Treaty requires both its text and its negotiation process to reflect a genuine commitment to addressing corporate-driven gender harms and strengthening the role of corporations in advancing gender justice. Merely referencing “gender” in selected provisions, such as articles 2, 4 and 6, is insufficient if the Treaty’s objectives and underlying principles are not directed at addressing the historical and ongoing gendered harms caused by corporations, including the complex links between TNCs and the poverty, inequality, violence and discrimination experienced by women. Equally, the treaty-making process itself must embody gender inclusivity and actively promote gender justice.

Every effort must be made to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of the Binding Treaty and its negotiation process, ensuring it is not diluted in ways that further enable corporate evasion of accountability. This must, by design, include advocating for a Treaty that recognises the role corporations play in causing and perpetuating gender-based harms, as well as their responsibility in eliminating them. As we move between the scheduled intersessional meetings and the main negotiation session, this reality must move with us in every room and remain central to every discussion and negotiation to ensure it is embedded in the core of a Treaty that can truly hold corporate power to account.

Busisiwe Kamolane-Kgadima is an Attorney, Researcher, and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies based at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa