Can a Treaty on Business and Human Rights help Achieve Transitional Justice Goals?

Although the definition and purpose of transitional justice (TJ) does not preclude
the inclusion of non-state business actors’ involvement in past authoritarian state or
armed conflict violence, these types human rights violations (HRVs) are not included in
formal TJ mandates. Nonetheless, in practice, TJ processes have included ad hoc
measures to hold economic actors responsible for those violations. This article seeks to
participate in the ongoing discussions and design of a UN-initiated proposal for a treaty
on business and human rights by adding the TJ dimension. It draws on the Corporate
Accountability and Transitional Justice (CATJ) data base to show that TJ initiatives have
already incorporated economic actors in the investigations of past human rights abuses
and how they have done so. It further explores what is missing from these processes and
how a treaty on business and human rights could help fill those voids and advance
victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations.