Opening statement for the 12th session of the open-ended
Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations and
other business enterprises with respect to human rights.
"Thank you, Chair.
The United Kingdom would like to thank you, your team and OHCHR
for the preparations for this session, and all delegations and
stakeholders for their continued engagement.
The UK remains firmly committed to promoting responsible business
conduct, preventing business-related human rights abuses, and
supporting access to effective remedy. We are also committed to
ensuring that businesses respect human rights, support
sustainable development, and contribute to more resilient and
inclusive economies.
We will continue to engage in this process constructively. We
recognise the potential value of an instrument that strengthens
international cooperation and supports better outcomes for those
affected by business-related human rights abuses. However, for
any instrument to secure broad support and be effective in
practice, it must be clear, legally coherent and workable for
States, businesses and rights-holders alike.
As we discuss the Chair's suggested redrafting of certain
Articles this week, we will focus on ensuring that proposed
provisions complement existing legal frameworks and can be
implemented in practice. As others have said, we consider it
important that the draft treaty under negotiation remains aligned
with established international standards, including the UN
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, with their
emphasis on prevention, responsible business conduct and
effective remedy.
We will continue to intervene on general points of principle but
given the short time to consider the Chair's proposals, we are
continuing to assess them in greater depth and will reserve our
position where appropriate.
Chair,
The UK remains committed to working constructively with all
delegations to build consensus where possible and to identify
practical solutions to the issues that remain under discussion.
We look forward to a productive week of negotiations.
Thank you."
