Opinion Piece – Corporate Impunity in an Era of Global Crisis Why the UN Binding Treaty Cannot Wait! By Ezile Madlala

Date: 23/06/2026


Across the African continent, rural and working-class communities continue to to bear the costs of poorly regulated corporate expansion. From toxic oil spills poisoning water tables in the Niger Delta to rural communities systematically displaced by mining concessions in Southern Africa without true prior consent, the structural narrative remains unchanged.

 Photo Credit: Life After Coal. (2021). Community activists protesting devastating impacts of coal mine shot at and arrested [Photograph by Life After Coal / Impilo Ngaphandle Kwamalahlehttps://lifeaftercoal.org.za/media/news/community-activists-protesting-devastating-impacts-of-coal-mine-shot-at-and-arrested

Transnational corporations (TNCs) extract vast mineral, infrastructural and agricultural wealth, often leaving behind environmental degradation, weakened local livelihoods, and deep social tensions. This is not a failure of an individual corporate ethics but a systemic failure of global governance. For decades, the international community has relied primarily on voluntary corporate accountability frameworks to regulate multinational business conduct. While these frameworks have contributed to important normative developments, they have often struggled to provide effective remedies where serious human rights abuses occur. History has proven these voluntary codes are useless, functioning primarily as public relations shields rather than instruments of justice.

When corporate violations occur, parent companies routinely hide behind complex cross-border legal structures. They use subsidiaries as legal firewalls, rendering domestic courts in developing nations powerless and leaving affected victims with zero access to effective remedy. For affected communities, pursuing justice can mean confronting jurisdictional barriers, lengthy litigation, and significant disparities in financial resources.  The result is an accountability gap that leaves many victims without effective remedies and exposes weaknesses in the current international legal framework. This institutionalised regulatory vacuum cannot be allowed to persist, especially as the cords of multilateralism begin to fray and international law faces unprecedented strain.

Against this backdrop, the Binding Treaty Indaba 2026, taking place in South Africa on 24 and 25 June, arrives at a critical moment, under the urgent theme: “Crisis, Capital, and Accountability: Advancing an African Agenda for a Binding Treaty in an Era of Global Conflict.” Co-hosted by civil society organisations such as the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC), the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), this regional Indaba serves as a critical continental launchpad. The focus of this gathering is not to plead for better corporate behaviour, but to solidify Africa’s role in a historic global legislative shift: the UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights.

Originally established under , the treaty process aims to create a legally binding international instrument to regulate the activities of transnational corporations under international human rights law. If adopted and ratified, the treaty would move the international system beyond reliance on voluntary commitments towards a framework grounded in legally enforceable obligations. For Africa, a continent disproportionately targeted by aggressive extractive industries, this treaty is a developmental necessity.

The timing of this year’s Indaba is vital. The Chair-Rapporteur of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEIGWG) has indicated that a pivotal new draft of the Binding Treaty may be introduced in 2026 or 2027, marking a decisive moment in the trajectory of global negotiations. Negotiations have often been slowed by disagreements between states over the scope of corporate liability, extraterritorial obligations, and the potential economic implications of binding regulation. Among the most persistent objections is the claim that binding regulations would stifle investment and place undue burdens on multinational corporations. However, African nations cannot afford to buy into this narrative. True, sustainable foreign investment does not require the sacrifice of human rights, clean water, or sovereign land.

The 2026 Indaba provides an opportunity for African governments to move from passive participants to coordinated agenda setters ahead of the 12th OEIGWG session in October 2026. A unified position would strengthen the continent’s influence in shaping the treaty’s final provisions and ensure that African priorities remain central to the negotiations. Africa must collectively champion a treaty draft that mandates human rights due diligence across entire global value chains. This means a corporate parent company headquartered in London or New York must be held directly liable for human rights abuses committed by their subsidiaries in rural Zambia, South Africa or Nigeria.

Furthermore, the treaty must enshrine absolute protections for environmental and human rights defenders. A treaty without explicit protections for these frontline defenders is a treaty without teeth. The question confronting policymakers is no longer whether corporate activity should be regulated across borders, but how long communities can continue to wait for meaningful accountability. For many affected by environmental harm, land dispossession, and labour exploitation, the consequences of delay are already being felt. The Binding Treaty process represents a rare opportunity to close longstanding gaps in international law. Africa has both the experience and the moral authority to help shape that future.

The choices made at the Indaba, and subsequently at the voting tables in Geneva, will determine whether international law continues to protect corporate profit or finally stands up to protect human dignity. It is time for African leaders to show political courage, reject corporate lobbying, and demand a hard-law framework that puts people before profits. The UN Binding Treaty cannot wait, and Africa must lead the charge!

About the Author:

Ezile Madlala is a Candidate Attorney under the Environmental Rights Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) in South Africa. Her work focuses on strategic litigation, environmental justice, and the intersection of human rights and corporate accountability.

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