With this consequential action, parties to the global tobacco treaty should be able to make meaningful progress on another item with profound democratic implications: liability. Any democratic government should be able to adequately hold those who cause harm to people responsible. But for decades, most countries--with the U.S. in the 1990s as a rare exception--could not exercise their right to hold the tobacco industry liable for the harms of its products have caused. Now, with Big Tobacco's interference dulled, countries will more easily be able to advance the treaty provision that holds the industry liable for the immense toll to public health that tobacco products cause and recoup millions dollars in health care and other costs.
And there's even wider-reaching implications for democracy in the October 6 decision. It sets the precedent in other arenas of international law -- in particular, climate. At the moment, government delegates from the Global South and climate justice advocates are calling for binding provisions in the U.N. climate treaty to prevent the fossil fuel industry and other polluting industries from steering global climate policy. No longer can the fox be allowed to guard the henhouse; millions of people have already died or have been displaced by extreme climate events. And according to last week's IPCC report, even greater devastation is predicted if we don't correct course.
Of course, in the United States, we are witnessing multiple failures of democracy, notably the opposite of "draining the swamp." Many Trump appointees have financial ties to the industries they are supposed to regulate. We need only look at Scott Pruitt's methodical dismantling of environmental protections while head of the Environmental Protection Agency or Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' championing of for-profit colleges to see the results. And it's low-income communities and communities of color who are bearing the brunt of this self-dealing.
We've all heard it now a million times: much is riding on the U.S. midterm elections. Not the least of which is the power and influence of corporations--not just to pour money into elections, but to shape and influence policy. The victory at the global tobacco meetings should embolden us to clear away the haze and strive for a democracy where corporations answer to people and our government -- not the other way around.
Patti Lynn, Executive Director, Corporate Accountability and CNS Columnist
- Shared under Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
