Continuing the process launched in 2014, the open-ended intergovernmental working group under the aegis of the UN met in Geneva, between 25-29 October for a 7th session of negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument regulating the activities of companies with regard to human rights. While the United States re-joined the process in 2021, after President Trump pulled the US out three years previously, the text remains blocked by the wait-and-see attitude of major players like the European Union. Crucial points such as the type of companies concerned are still short of securing consensus.
In a first, the members of the intergovernmental working group on business and human rights have debated, article by article, the text proposed by the Ecuadorian presidency. This is now the fourth version of the draft treaty, resulting from a combination of the previous negotiation session from October 2020, proposed amendments made by the various states, and the consultations held since then. However, while 68 states have been involved in the process, only a handful have actively participated
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