A/HRC/29/28 B. Trade agreements and trade-related issues 36. The debate on the links between trade and human rights, and in particular labour rights, is not new.30 Yet, while the Guiding Principles have begun to inform some discussions in the area of investment regimes, the idea of translating the Guiding Principles to the area of multilateral trade frameworks, notably in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO), remains underexplored. 1. World Trade Organization and international trade rules 37. The former Director General of WTO, Pascal Lamy, contributed to the debate during a panel discussion on the links between the global economic architecture and the business and human rights agenda at the 2014 annual Forum on Business and Human Rights. He argued that the current international system was failing in integrating human rights in the areas of trade and economic governance, and called for a more integrated and coherent approach. The “clustered” system whereby the Human Rights Council did not consider trade and finance issues in country reviews, and whereby the WTO did not look at human rights when doing country trade policy reviews, demonstrated the limits of the system. A specific example illustrating this gap was the continued challenge of getting WTO members to accept that ILO should have observer status at WTO sessions, a step that could contribute to greater coherence. 31 Mr. Lamy had, in his capacity as WTO Director General, pointed out that for trade to act as a positive vector for the reinforcement of human rights, a coordinated international effort was needed, and that a coherent approach that integrated trade and human rights policy goals should be developed.32 38. In the commentary to Guiding Principle 10, the need for greater policy coherence at the international level is stressed, including where States participate in multilateral institutions that deal with business-related issues, such as international trade and financial institutions. They should do so to meet legal obligations, as States retain their international human rights obligations when they participate in such institutions, but also for policy reasons, as collective action through multilateral institutions can help States level the playing field with regard to business respect for human rights. The Guiding Principles provide an authoritative global reference point for such efforts and could serve as the basis for building cumulative progress “that takes into account the respective roles and responsibilities of all relevant stakeholders”. 2. Labour provisions in free trade agreements 39. A review by ILO and the International Institute for Labour Studies highlighted that, alongside the rapid increase in bilateral and regional free trade, there has also been a growing number of social and labour provisions included in such agreements: 58 in 2013, compared to only 4 in 1995.33 This is a positive trend, which has had positive impacts on 30 See Institute for Human Rights and Business, State of Play: Human Rights in the Political Economy of States: Avenues for Application, p. 43. 31 Recording of presentation available from http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rightscouncil/forum-on-business-and-human-rights/watch/strengthening-the-links-between-the-globaleconomic-architecture-and-the-business-and-human-rights-agenda-forum-on-business-and-humanrights-2014/3925401980001. 32 WTO News, “Lamy calls for mindset change to align trade and human rights” (13 January 2010). Available at: www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl146_e.htm. 33 ILO and the International Institute for Labour Studies, “Social dimensions of free trade agreements” Studies on growth with equity (2013), p. 5. Available from Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. 11