Geneva, 12-16 October 2026
Members of the German Treaty Alliance: Romy Siegert, IG Metal; Gabriele Koehler, Women Engage for a Common Future; Jan Koenigshausen, Society for Threatened Peoples ; Celia Sudhoff, Global Policy Forum Europe ; and Armin Paasch, Misereor (not in picture)
Members of the German Treaty Alliance on Business and Human Rights were among the civil society voices, trade unionists and human rights defenders at the October session of the Human Rights Council’s Open Working Group on Business and Human Rights https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/wg-trans-corp/session12 .
The need for a comprehensive, inclusive and binding treaty arises from persistent business-related human rights abuses and violations, and Governments as the duty bearers must have the means to regulate global value chains. TNCs and their economic activities affectindividuals and communities, as well as the environment and our planet, frequently with deleterious impact especially on informal sector workers, Indigenous Peoples, women, children, peasants and fisherfolk, human rights and environmental defenders. The Chair’scomprehensive report is here. Our critical analyses to follow.