Panel: Jornada internacional sobre empreses transnacionals i drets humans

On June 2-3 I attended an international conference on human rights and transnational corporations in the Catalan Parliament in Barcelona, hosted by several non-governmental organizations including CETIM, the Transnational Institute and Corporate Europe Observatory. I had the pleasure of meeting several distinguished Professors, including Juan Hernandez, the author of the book Contra la Lex Mercatoria, which deserves an English language translation. I spoke on the lack of recourse possibilities and remedies for victims of abuses caused by business enterprises, and the adverse human rights, health and environmental impacts of certain business activities.  I noted the normative asymmetry that allows investors to sue States, but not vice versa, and called on civil society to demand referenda on any new free trade agreements, which should not be adopted by Parliaments unless human rights impact assessments and thorough debate have been conducted.  A binding legal instrument on corporate social responsibility is urgently needed.

Below is the online version of the conference

Part I (click on image to view the video)

Part II (click on image to view the video)

Part III (click on image to view the video)

Part IV (click on image to view the video)

Links to original videos:

Part 1: http://www.parlament.cat/web/canal-parlament/videos/index.html?p_cp1=7712070

Part 2: http://www.parlament.cat/web/canal-parlament/videos/index.html?p_cp1=7711920

Part 3: http://www.parlament.cat/web/canal-parlament/videos/index.html?p_cp1=7711970

Part 4: http://www.parlament.cat/web/canal-parlament/videos/index.html?p_cp1=7712020