A/HRC/37/63 global intergovernmental deliberations. He noted, “a third dimension of democratization is almost completely neglected: developing global democracy beyond States”.20 F. Investor-State dispute settlement arbitrations 56. In his 2015 report to the Council (A/HRC/30/44 and Corr.1), the Independent Expert recommended that States should impose a moratorium on the execution of investor-State dispute settlement awards until the entire system was tested by the International Court of Justice. A new multilateral treaty should be elaborated stipulating that courts could not execute such awards without verifying their compatibility with human rights treaty obligations and public order. States should refrain from entering into new bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, 21 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Trade in Services Agreement, unless human rights, health and environmental impact assessments had been conducted, and unless there was full disclosure, consultation with stakeholders and public participation. Where possible, referendums should be conducted. G. International trade and the growing power of transnational corporations 57. Yash Tandon reminds us in his book Trade is War that, historically, trade disputes have led to armed conflict. Indeed, trade is a means to impose economic and political dominance.22 58. In his reports on bilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements, the Independent Expert recommended that the General Assembly invite the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to convene a conference to revise or terminate international investment agreements that had resulted in human rights violations. The General Assembly might consider tasking the Council with a specific mandate on periodic monitoring of the adverse impacts of the international investment regime on the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, for example by expanding the scope of examination under the universal periodic review (see A/70/285, paras. 66–67). H. A treaty making the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights binding 59. There are many solid studies concerning massive human rights violations committed by transnational corporations with total impunity. The Council should, as a matter of urgency, adopt a legally binding convention on corporate social responsibility, imposing civil and penal liability on transnational corporations. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, are ineffective because they are based on self-regulation and lack any enforcement mechanism. 20 21 22 16 See http://en.unpacampaign.org/225/boutros-ghali-parliamentary-assembly-inevitable-todemocratize-global-governance; Joseph Schwartzberg writes in Creating a World Parliamentary Assembly: “Our increasingly interdependent world can no longer function without an effective UN system. But for a variety of reasons — mainly related to the obsolescent mindsets and dubious diplomatic practices of a world still guided mainly by Realpolitik — a large proportion of the human family has lost faith in the UN. … A democratically constituted WPA will go far toward correcting these deficiencies and would do much to promote more legitimate, transparent, representative, accountable and responsive governance” (p. 96). Its successor, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, seems to suffer from the same fundamental problems as the original Partnership. See also the history of the Opium Wars to force the opening of China to European trade in Jack Beeching, The Chinese Opium Wars (Orlando, Florida, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975).