Poverty, Transnational corporations and national debt

On the 21^st of June, the Human Rights Council held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and a clustered interactive dialogue with both the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises and the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.

María Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights,  expressed gratitude that extreme poverty was being prioritised but criticised the relocation of funds to assist with climate change programmes.

Margaret Jungk, Chairperson/Rapporteur of the Working Group on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, stated that, last year, the Human Rights Council had taken a historic decision to establish an authoritative global standard to address business activities and human rights and that the working group were looking at the possibility of country visits. 

Cephas Lumina, the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, said official initiatives on foreign debt had failed to deliver an enduring solution.  The debts of countries continued to grow and constrain both their development prospects and their capacity to realize human rights.

One would hope that standards for transnational corporations could potentially alleviate extreme poverty and foreign debt. However, although in the area of extreme poverty progress is still being made, there, along with work on it appears that the UN is struggling. Funds are being channelled away from extreme poverty programmes, the oversight of transnational corporations has not yet begun and the expert on foreign debt reports the failure of current UN policy. As the world economy falters, one might take this to illustrate changing political priorities at the UN. In the absence of a global financial recovery, whether a UN department designed to interfere with private business will be given real political claws is a worrying question.