Trade and investment treaties are essential legal conduits of the world’s economy. In the rising tide of globalization and the rush to reduce trade barriers there is a countercurrent of opinion that freer trade often harms the most vulnerable. There has been a movement to use the human rights lens to identify those losing out in trade liberalization. Human Right Impact Assessments have been performed on various aspects of international trade and investment agreements. The human rights work in the area of trade and investment treaties has developed in parallel with the development of human rights impact assessment in the corporate sphere.

In order to connect these related, but separate discourses, Nomogaia was invited to participate in a high level expert workshop sponsored by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the well-respected nonprofit Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung. The multi-day gathering included respected authorities from academia, government, NGOs and international institutions. It was called “Making the right impact? Expert workshop on evaluating Human Rights Impact assessment (HRIAs) in trade and investment regimes” and was held at a conference center outside of Geneva, Switzerland.

We were specifically invited to share NomoGaia’s experience with HRIA with the trade and investment treaty world. It was gratifying to hear NomoGaia called a “pioneer” and its work “ground breaking” and “inspiring.” There was keen interest in spreading NomoGaia’s learning, experience and techniques to the trade and investment realm.

Mark Wielga represented Nomogaia at this event. None of your donations were used to cover the expenses.