Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights

Mandate

At its 26th session, on 26 June 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9 by which it decided “to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.”

The open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG) has had six sessions so far.  Ahead of the 6th session, the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the OEIGWG, released a second revised draft legally binding instrument on business activities and human rights. The second revised draft served as the basis for State-led direct substantive intergovernmental negotiations during the sixth session, which took place from 26 to 30 October 2020.

In furtherance of the recommendations of the Chair-Rapporteur from the sixth session (as indicated in the report of the sixth session), the Secretariat compiled the following documents:

• Annex to the sixth session report containing statements from States and other relevant stakeholders on the second revised draft legally binding instrument that were provided to the Secretariat and presented during the sixth session of the working group
• Matrix of concrete textual suggestions, modifications, additional language and requests for deletions, as well as expressions of support, concerning the current provisions of the second revised draft legally binding instrument
• Matrix of general comments and requests of clarification