Today was a beautiful day in Geneva, sunny and warm, with very clear visibility. We could even see Mont Blanc off in the distance over the lake. Usually Mont Blanc isn't visible more than one or two times a month.
The discussion under item 2 of the agenda got underway this afternoon. At the same time the Working Group on Transnational Corporations was holding a parallel meeting next door. This TNC Working Group is at a very important juncture in its work, with the draft norms of responsibility for businesses being considered for formal adoption. So both meetings were important and were going on at the same time.
Item 2 of the Sub-Commission's agenda focusses on human rights violations in country situations anywhere in the world. We signed up to speak at the end of the speakers list, but the session went so quickly (partly because several speakers opted for the TNC working group meeting instead) that our turn to speak came up by the end of the day. Penny Parker presented this statement on behalf of Minnesota Advocates. A copy has been added to the speeches page of this site. The speech evaluates the item 2 debate process itself and calls for improvement in the structure and process.
The speech was well received by those in attendance. Numerous requests were made for additional copies afterwards and at least two experts on the Sub-Commission indicated that they would like to take up the subjects addressed in the speech in their general discussion tomorrow.
The sign in the photo below caused us a chuckle. We guess it is sort of diplomatic-speak for "no smoking."
