"Declaration of Civil Society to UNCTAD XIV"

Gathering in Nairobi, some 200 civil society representatives from all over the world are seeking to influence the intergovernmental negotiations on the new work programme of UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development], to be defined over the next four days...They appealed for a stronger mandate for UNCTAD to deal with debt issues that would go beyond debt management, such as debt crisis prevention and resolution. They urged Governments to give UNCTAD a more prominent role in the work being done on global tax issues, such as corporate tax avoidance. They also wanted its work on global trade imbalances to be strengthened...[Excerpt from full declaration:] It is timely to examine ways to utilize the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights with a view to establishing accountability and liability of business enterprises. UNCTAD  should work to create consensus in multilateral institutions to address the lack of extraterritorial liability for business activities, including with mandatory human rights due diligence...