Businesses are central to the modern world. A country without a foundational network of businesses is a country that does not grow. In many cases they are a source of jobs, innovation and a way to facilitate access to basic necessities such as medicine or food. However, in Latin America, we have witnessed how many companies have negatively impacted the rights of people and in the communities where they operate. Some do not respect the rights of their workers, do not pay all the taxes they should, pollute, persecute social leaders or interfere in the development of public policies. This type of behavior benefits from a lack of state regulation that limits corporate behavior and obliges them to act with due diligence.

Of course, not all businesses operate in this way. But those that do generate such strong consequences in people’s lives and can affect such a wide population, that someone has to tell these stories. That is what this Newsletter is about. The impacts of some companies on social rights, the lack of regulation in this field, and Dejusticia’s efforts to build a Latin American agenda to promote common standards of responsibility. 

The two initial articles presented in this Newsletter illustrate how companies have negatively impacted access to essential medicines and have favored the exposure of children to the advertising of ultra-processed products. We are interested in highlighting these cases that have been little discussed, not because they are less serious, but because they are more subtle. 

The first article, by Maria Gabriela Vargas, illustrates the case of Dolutegravir, a drug that is part of the first-line treatment for people living with HIV. The treatment is offered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) at $45 US dollars per year, but in Colombia it costs about $1,235 US dollars. The reason for this lies in the intellectual property patents that ensure a production monopoly for the producer and prevent competition. In 2023, Colombia initiated the process to establish a compulsory license for this drug, in order to allow the manufacture of generics that lower the cost. As expected, the companies sued against this policy, alleging that it is disproportionate and contrary to the law. However, patents, like any other exercise of property rights, can be limited when certain requirements are met. As happened during the pandemic when, together with other organizations, we joined forces to request a waiver of the vaccine patent for Covid-19, these types of deviations, as long as they are justified under strict criteria of necessity and proportionality, are legitimate, and do not violate property rights nor limit innovation. 

The second article, by Adriana Torres, shows how ultra-processed food companies use aggressive advertising techniques to target their unhealthy products (e.g., high in sugar, fat or sodium) to children. These strategies influence the purchasing choices of this group and create unhealthy eating patterns that can lead to obesity, diabetes and other chronic non-communicable diseases as adults. Regulations such as front-of-package food labeling, restrictions on the advertising of these products, among other measures, are effective in discouraging consumption. This trend, which is already the rule in several Latin American countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, etc.), is also beginning to be adopted in European countries, such as the United Kingdom. This shows that regulatory efforts to reduce the health impact of the consumption of this type of products are yielding results and tend to become more widespread.

In both cases, the heart of the discussion is about the existing norms for regulating corporate behavior, preventing companies from negatively impacting rights and holding them accountable for the violations they cause. In this area, the most advanced region is undoubtedly Europe, which already has legislation in place. In order to discuss these regulatory developments, we include a Global Blog reflecting on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The Directive, approved by the Council of Europe in May of this year, advances the understanding of what corporate due diligence should be, and complements legislation already in place in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The Global Blog, written by Julián Gutiérrez and Berta Flores, discusses the advances of this Directive, but also the debts that remain with the social movement (particularly in the Global South) that for so long has demanded a greater commitment from Europe on this issue.

In Latin America we are still in the process of regulating this field. Some decisions of the Inter-American Court stand out, such as the sentence in the case of La Oroya, in which a Peruvian metallurgical company was condemned for environmental and health damages due to the air pollution it caused. Also noteworthy are some pronouncements by REDESCA of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and some legislative initiatives in Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico that have stalled. 

In order to reflect as a region on the type of regulation we need, we met in Bogota from June 17 to 21 for the IV Course on Business and Human Rights.  There were 27 professionals from Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Venezuela, the United States and Colombia, including business advisors, representatives of international organizations and members of civil society, as well as important leaders in the field who served as lecturers and panelists. The course mixed theoretical and practical components for a Latin American reflection on what it means to hold companies accountable for their business activities. This reflection led us to think about regulatory models that not only promote prevention and due diligence—as the European model does—but also prioritize the participation of communities and fair compensation for damages committed. We present the culmination video of the event as a taste of what was an intensive week of discussions. 

As you can see, Dejusticia’s work in the field of Business and Human Rights continues to thrive. We hope you enjoy the articles and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for more reflections on human rights from the Global South.