A loophole in battling the injustice of the TRADE TREATIES

“in case of conflict between the provisions of the UN Charter and any other treaty, the Charter prevails.” In other words, trade treaties that lead to a violation of human rights — or breach any other obligation set out in the UN Charter — are legally invalid. Most countries have signed onto human rights treaties, but “they have also entered into trade and investment agreements that hinder, delay or render impossible the fulfillment of their human rights treaty obligations.”


What does de Zayas think should be done? Among other steps in his ‘plan of action’, he calls on governments to:

• Ensure that all trade and investment agreements – existing and future – represent the democratic will of the populations concerned. Negotiations must not be secret or ‘fast-tracked’, but should instead be accompanied by broad public consultation and participation;

• Abolish ISDS, and refuse to comply with any existing ISDS awards that violate human rights;

• Ensure that all trade and investment agreements recognize the primacy of human rights and specify that, in case of conflict, human rights obligations prevail;

• Ensure that trade and investment treaties do not interfere with the ability of governments to conduct domestic budgetary and fiscal affairs.

• Resist the ‘siren call’ of lobbyists for transnational corporations and banks that make overly-optimistic projections of growth and development.

De Zayas is not advocating an end to international trade and investment, but an end to the “grand global casino where investors rig the system to guarantee that they always win…

http://www.localfutures.org/current-trade-treaties-a-revolution-against-international-law/