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Pathway to A Feminist International Corporate Accountability Framework

26 October 2022
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The report – Pathway to A Feminist International Corporate Accountability Framework – published by ActionAid, ACCA, ACT Alliance, AWID, FIDA Uganda, Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad, Protection International, ISHR, IWRAW Asia Pacific, and ZELA aims to inspire further action and sets out next steps achieve such a feminist framework.

Women around the world continue to experience business-related human rights abuses and violations differently and disproportionately: from significant barriers to access justice and discrimination in the labour market to gender-based violence, uneven domestic workloads, and unpaid care duties. Systemic gender impacts connected to corporate activities are particularly felt by women in the Global South.

Based on four case studies from Uganda, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, and Kenya, the report offers specific examples of women’s lived experiences concerning large-scale agribusiness and mining activities in the Global South. Women from groups in various contexts experience corporate activity-related abuses in different ways and therefore need a feminist response.

A Feminist UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights is urgent. We call upon states to engage constructively in the treaty process and build upon the progress made so far. States should:

  • Engage constructively, build on previous negotiations, and harmonize with human rights and environmental obligations
  • Ensure women are at the heart of this conversation
  • Prevent harm to people and the planet related to business activities
  • Make things right when harms occur
  • Put corporate accountability at the heart of broader measures toward economic, climate, and ecological justice and transformation

Find the link to the individual case studies from the Pathway to A Feminist International Corporate Accountability Framework: