human rights


UK firms using legal muscle to facilitate human rights and climate abuses – report
Transform Trade charity says British-based companies are among main bringers of cases based on bilateral investment treaties.
Is investor-state dispute settlement an appropriate forum for the resolution of investment disputes arising from armed conflicts? Part 2: the quest to find a just and equitable remedy
ISDS is an unsuitable forum for the just resolution of investment disputes founded on the consequences of armed conflict.
Is investor-state dispute settlement an appropriate forum for the resolution of investment disputes arising from armed conflicts? Part 1: normative conflicts and consequences
Unsatisfyingly, ISDS permits international investment law to exist in a vacuum that enables those tasked with adjudicating disputes to turn a blind eye to international humanitarian law norms.
Six reasons NOT to ratify the EU-Mexico Global Agreement
Statement of the Mexican, European and international civil society, 4 July 2022
Britain launches free trade talks with Gulf countries
Britain will launch talks over a new free trade deal with six Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and charities warned it not to ignore human rights in its latest bid to grow non-EU ties after Brexit.
EU proposes raising tariffs on countries blocking return of rejected asylum seekers
Under a new proposal from the European Commission, non-EU nations who refuse to make arrangements to take back undocumented migrants with a failed asylum claim may have their import tariffs increased.
China dismisses Swiss reports of stalled free trade talks
China's commerce ministry has denied talks with Switzerland to update a free trade agreement between both countries are "frozen".
China-Swiss trade talks stall over rights issues – newspapers
Efforts by Switzerland to refresh its free trade agreement with China have stalled as Bern takes a more critical view of Beijing’s human rights record.
Overselling EU trade deals: new study uncovers failures of sustainability impact assessments
The European Commission uses flawed and tardy sustainability impact assessments as a fig leaf for environmentally, socially and economically damaging EU trade agreements, according to a new study.
Key human rights tests for UK free trade agreements
Without adequate rules and the right business incentives to protect workers and communities, trade deals can contribute to a ‘race to the bottom’.