The investment rules within Free Trade Agreements – such as NAFTA, and CAFTA, and thousands of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) – have been written to favor the interests of corporations and maximize their profits. They undermine the sovereignty of nation states and their peoples, thus infringing upon the ability of nation states to develop responsible public policy in favor of the environment and human rights. In a growing trend particularly present in Latin America, corporations are suing nation states in closed-door and unaccountable international tribunals for designing and applying responsible public policy that responds to the demands of the population for protections from the harmful environmental effects of industries such as the oil, gas and mining industries.

At the Together for Justice: 2012 International Gathering IPS Associate Fellow Manuel Pérez-Rocha will lead a session on the efforts waged by grassroots organizations and allied experts to restore a balance in investment rules, and how several countries are responding to this challenge.