Paris, 3 December 2021 – Looking back at the progress made over the last decade and drawing lessons for the future, Sherpa has updated its Handbook of proposals to regulate multinationals.
Sherpa was born out of a fundamental observation: the gap between the political, economic, and social existence of multinational companies and their legal non-existence. Indeed, multinationals, whose names, brands, and economic importance are known worldwide, are, however, not fully treated as such by law. This situation is a major source of impunity in the globalized world.
This conclusion led to the drafting of the first edition of Sherpa’s Handbook of Proposals, in 2010. Its aim was to explain and overcome the obstacles to the regulation of multinationals by formulating proposals.
Some of these proposals have made their way into positive law. The law on the duty of vigilance adopted in 2017 is one example. Other proposals, however, have not stood the test of time. Sherpa’s practice, particularly in litigation, has made it possible to identify the limits of certain proposals.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Sherpa sought to review these proposals and propose a new updated version of the Handbook. Sherpa shines a spotlight on concrete human rights violations observed in the field by our partners (NGOs, journalists, whistleblowers, etc.) and has shown that the current legal landscape is not fit to fight impunity. Our experience and observations allow us to develop ambitious legislative proposals to meet the challenges of our century. Thus, our actions aim to change the law in order to contain climate change, combat resource grabbing, strengthen democratic debate, and allow for the emergence of new societal models, more respectful of human rights.
Celebrating 20 years of commitment
Discover an overview of the Handbook on Sherpa’s website created for its 20th anniversary.
Each page of the website allows to explore one of the major challenges in the fight against multinational impunity, with a description of the key issues, videos, and summaries of our proposals!
