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the toxic truth
chapter 10
meaningful access to a procedure capable of providing an effective remedy.563 As discussed earlier in this report, all states are under an obligation to protect individuals from infringements of their human rights by third parties. As part of this duty, states are also required to take adequate steps to investigate and provide effective remedies against human rights abuses. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, developed by the UN Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights, reiterate this obligation:
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States must protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises. This requires taking appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse through effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication. 564
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The CESCR has also highlighted that:
It is of utmost importance that State “ “ Parties ensure access to effective remedies to victims of corporate abuses of economic, social and cultural rights, through judicial, administrative, legislative or other appropriate 565 means.
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The following chapters describe the efforts undertaken in three different countries: Côte d’Ivoire, the Netherlands and the UK, and the limitations, to date, of those efforts in providing victims with effective remedies. The efforts to provide a remedy to the victims and hold those responsible to account included: the establishment of a National Commission of Enquiry in Côte d’Ivoire, a criminal prosecution in Côte d’Ivoire, a financial settlement between Trafigura and the state of Côte d’Ivoire, clean-up operations in Côte d’Ivoire, criminal prosecution in the Netherlands and a civil claims case in the UK.