The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is elaborating on a General Comment addressing State Obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Context of Business Activities. Alongside member states and other civil society organisations, APWLD made a submission on how women’s economic, social, and cultural rights are affected by corporate activity and the importance of a gender perspective in this context. The draft comment was discussed in Geneva on 21 February 2017 on a Day of General Discussion via webcast.
APWLD’s submission highlighted areas that the General Comment had not addressed that APWLD sees as extremely relevant to guide states in applying the Covenant when addressing corporate activities. These include: trade and investment treaties, specifically clauses such as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) that bind states from fulfilling their human rights obligations; the importance of human rights standards’ applicability to international finance institutions; the links between business activity, the private sector and climate change, which infringes on economic, social, and cultural rights; and finally, the importance of tax systems and the need for tax justice.
Please click here to download a copy of our submission.
