Event Body Meeting
12th session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights
The twelfth session of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights (OEIGWG on TNCs and OBEs) is taking place from 12 to 16 October 2026 at Palais des Nations.
About this Event
On 26 June 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/9, in which it decided “to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.”
On 11 July 2024, the Human Rights Council adopted decision 56/116 to enhance the support capabilities of the open-ended intergovernmental working group (OEIGWG), including through intersessional thematic consultations in Geneva for a period of three years.
Between the eleventh and twelfth sessions, numerous intersessional activities took place, including the thematic consultations mandated by Council decision 56/116. See the summary report on the 2026 intersessional thematic consultations. Following these consultations, the Chair-Rapporteur also circulated an addendum to the summary report with suggested redrafting of selected provisions of the updated draft legally binding instrument.
The twelfth session of the OEIGWG will take place from 12 to 16 October 2026. A live webcast of the session will be available on UN Web TV.
Environment @ 12th OEIGWG on TNCs and OBEs
Various side events expected to tackle environmental issues include:
- Accountability in Global Value Chains: Legal Responsibilities of States and Corporations in Addressing Harm from Pesticides | 12 October 2026 | 13:00–14:00 CEST | Room XI CIDSE
- Environmental justice in the UN Binding Treaty: Corporate accountability, conflict and the right to a healthy environment | 13 October 2026 | 9:00–10:00 CEST | Room XI | International Service for Human Rights
- An International Tribunal on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights: Closing the Accountability Gap and Ensuring Access to Justice | 14 October 2026 | 13:00–14:00 CEST | Room XI Centre Europe – Tiers Monde (CETIM)
- Food Sovereignty as a Lever to End Corporate Impunity: Rural Women, Peasants, and Small-Scale Fishers’ Voices for Just and Resilient Food Systems | 14 October 2026 | 14:00–15:00 CEST | Room XI | Centre Europe – Tiers Monde (CETIM)
- The primacy of human rights over trade and investment agreements: the Binding Treaty path away from investment arbitration | 15 October 2026 | 13:00–14:00 CEST | Room VIII | Institute for Policy Studies
- People-Powered Solutions: Building a Strong Treaty Against Corporate Capture and Impunity | 15 October 2026 | 14:00–15:00 CEST | Room VIII | ESCR-Net
Accreditation and Participation
Only UN Member and Observer States, specialized agencies and other international organizations, national human rights institutions with “A status” accreditation, and NGOs with ECOSOC consultative status may attend and participate in the public meetings of the OEIGWG.
Please consult the participation page for information regarding how to make interventions during the twelfth session.