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Article

1 May 2014

Author:
Karim Lahidji, FIDH

FIDH's contribution to the Corporate Legal Accountability Portal

…From Brazil to Indonesia and across all sectors, corporate impunity continues to prevail and human rights defenders are in the line of fire…As competition for land and natural resources is accelerating globally, both government authorities and corporations are subjecting human rights defenders to surveillance, attacks, unfounded charges, harassment and other threats, and in some cases murder, all in a climate of impunity…Access to remedy remains an illusion for most people affected by corporate abuses, even in countries with relatively strong judicial systems…The need to lift practical and procedural barriers in accessing justice, particularly in cases with an extraterritorial dimension, remains urgent.  FIDH continues to use judicial and non-judicial mechanisms, in both home and host States, to seek justice for victims and ensure corporate accountability…When it comes to corporate accountability, NGOs are too often accused of being responsible for polarising debates.  In a global context of shrinking space for civil society, increased criminalisation of defenders and reprisals for cooperating with human rights bodies, a shift in the discourse is required to support and recognise the essential role civil society plays in addressing corporate accountability…