As part of the project to strengthen the African region to end impunity of transnational corporations (TNCs), Friends of the Earth Togo organized on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at the Entente room of the Administrative Center and Economic and Financial Services (CASEF), a capacity building workshop for 28 people from human rights and environmental organizations.
The overall objectives of the project are: to document cases of corporate impunity around the world, particularly in Africa, in order to demand policy changes to dismantle corporate power and challenge the current model of development driven by multinational corporations; to denounce harmful trade agreements; and to promote binding rules for TNCs and other businesses.
Specifically, these are:
- Document and present concrete examples of human rights impacts of TNC activities
- Train 25 human rights structures (NGOs/associations and public administration) on the UN binding treaty and its negotiation process
- Establish a coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) in favor of the fight against TNC violations and for human dignity, with a roadmap.
Two presentations were made during the workshop by two experts from Friends of the Earth-Togo:
Presentation 1: Documented concrete examples of human rights impacts of TNC activities, by KPONDZO Kwami, Campaign officer
Presentation 2: The United Nations binding treaty and its negotiation process, AMEGADZE Kokou, Deputy Executive Director
These presentations generated a lot of interest and questions that were answered by the presenters.
When interviewed about the need to train CSOs to document cases of human rights violations by TNCs, Mr. AMEGADZE Kokou Elorm, said that : TNCs are companies with offices in several countries, under different jurisdictions, with a single decision-making center. The activities of these companies are associated with many injustices, he noted. It is a question of human rights violations, land grabbing and ecological damage. It is therefore a question of seeing how this can be reversed so that the affected populations no longer suffer from the perverse effects linked to the activities of TNCs. Since the CSO movement supports communities affected by human rights abuses, it is important to educate and train them on the ins and outs of TNC activities. That is why we want these CSOs to understand the issues related to TNC operations so that the abuses we see can be stopped.
The workshop ended on a high note by establishing a coalition for the fight against TNC violations and for human dignity, bringing together the participating organizations, with a roadmap for its activities.
For more information
Friends of the Earth-Togo
+228 97 12 44 96