Road from Rio: The Battle Lines Are Drawn between Multinational Corporations and Nongovernmental Organizations at the Upcoming Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development
Road from Rio: The Battle Lines Are Drawn between Multinational Corporations and Nongovernmental Organizations at the Upcoming Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development
Author(s)
Garcia-Johnson, Ronie
Abstract
At meetings leading up to the Johannesburg Summit, and during the event itself, groups like Friends of the Earth International will fight for, while the WBCSD and likeminded parties will fight against, a negotiation process for a binding convention on corporate conduct. The outcome is uncertain. While state power in the wake of September 11 seems to be on the rise, President Bush has reasserted the need for voluntary action and market mechanisms domestically. States may be reinvigorated as they address security concerns, but nor as they address social and environmental ones. We can expect some progress at Johannesburg towards the creation of a multilateral code of conduct for multinationals. But we cannot expect the United States, home and host to the world’s largest and most influential multinational corporations, to allow it to become binding in the near future.