Transnational corporations mist account for rights violations, says activist

Transnational corporations should be held responsible for their environmental and human rights violations in their host communities, as well as ensure victims’ access to justice and right to reparation as enshrined in international law.

Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, said this yesterday while speaking at the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group to hold transnational corporations (TNCs) accountable for their human rights violations in Geneva, Switzerland.

ERA/FoEN, a member of Friends of the Earth International with autonomous national groups from 75 countries and over two million grassroots members, is part of the global campaign to dismantle corporate power and stop impunity of transnational corporations.

Addressing the group, he said: “We welcome the Treaty elements on transnational corporations and their supply chains with regard to holding them to account for human rights violations.

“State obligations must include civil and criminal liabilities that address TNCs human rights violations. Various international instruments and regional jurisdictions attested to victims’ access to justice and their rights to reparation in international law.”