"Achieving a binding instrument on business & human rights: 3 lessons from the Arms Trade Treaty campaign", 22 Jul 2015

The ATT [Arms Trade Treaty] campaign…succeeded in presenting the treaty as the global solution to a global problem, where other national and regional approaches had failed.  BHR treaty advocates need to better explain precisely why and how a treaty is part of the answer to a diverse range of problems…Along with the plethora of position papers published around the IGWG [Intergovernmental Working Group]…[the ESCR-net/FIDH Treaty Initiative] will help to crystalize the essential components of the treaty, provide an underpinning to the civil society advocacy when there are differences of opinion about strategy and tactics, and make selling the idea of a treaty to governments, investors and companies more straightforward…If the IGWG process continues without the involvement of more States that are home to a significant number of multinational companies, the resulting treaty stands little chance of being implemented, even if it were ratified.  The support of these States seems unlikely without backing, or at least not outright opposition from some businesses…