"Submission of Franciscans International to the first session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights", 22 Jun 2015

Communities and individuals continue to suffer from environmental degradation, social conflict, inequality, landlessness, precarious working conditions, discrimination, violence, and denial of access to justice. This indicates that more robust regulatory and accountability mechanisms are needed and overdue…We see gaps in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and have observed that in this case good intentions have not translated into concrete change for local communities. Nonetheless, Franciscans International asserts that the development of a treaty in the field of business and human rights does not interfere with the implementation of the Guiding Principles...The Treaty should: Establish effective mechanisms to prevent, investigate, punish, and remedy corporate abuses, including access to justice for affected people; Address corporate impunity in situations where the State is not able or not willing to uphold its duty to protect; Require States to enact policies that ensure that business enterprises respect human rights and act with mandatory due diligence…[Also refers to HudBay Minerals, Eternit]