A Philippine lawmaker on Wednesday called for a legally binding international treaty that would hold multinational corporations accountable for human rights and labor abuses, arguing that workers' rights and environmental protection must take precedence over foreign business interests.

Party-list Rep. Haima "Dadah" Kiram Ismula made the call in a statement issued during negotiations at the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. She said existing international trade and investment agreements often allow foreign corporations to shield their financial interests, while victims of corporate abuses struggle to obtain justice.

"For the average Filipino, this fight at the UN is a matter of life, decent work, and justice," Ms. Ismula said in Filipino.

The legislator took part in negotiations on the proposed UN Legally Binding Instrument on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights, representing civil society organizations, trade unions, and affected communities through the Global Interparliamentary Network and CETIM, a Geneva-based advocacy group.

The negotiations stem from a process begun in 2014, when the UN Human Rights Council established an open-ended intergovernmental working group to draft a binding instrument covering transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Successive negotiating sessions have taken place in Geneva, and any final treaty would need to be agreed by participating states before it could take effect. A binding instrument would also differ in kind from the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the non-binding framework endorsed in 2011 that set expectations for states and companies without creating enforceable legal obligations.

Ms. Ismula criticized Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms — provisions common in international investment treaties — which allow foreign investors to bring claims against governments under certain investment agreements. She warned that such mechanisms could deter governments from implementing labor and environmental safeguards.

According to the lawmaker, the current international system provides corporations with stronger avenues to protect their investments than those available to workers and communities seeking redress for human rights violations.

She called for international standards that would require human rights obligations to take precedence over trade and investment commitments, and urged governments to ensure that existing and future economic agreements comply with binding human rights protections.

— Report by Pexcel John Bacon, originally published by BusinessWorld Online