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The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Undermining Human Rights

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Undermining Human Rights

The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was a massive, controversial, pro-corporate “free trade” agreement that was defeated by thousands of diverse organizations representing working people united across borders — fighting against corporate power and for the environment, health, human rights and democracy. It would have granted Malaysia, one of the world’s worst human trafficking offenders, privileged access to the U.S. market. The Obama administration concluded TPP negotiations with Malaysia in October 2015, despite the discovery of mass graves for human trafficking victims in Malaysia. The TPP also included Vietnam, despite Vietnam’s jailing of political dissidents, systematic anti-union repression and widespread use of child labor. The deal would have forged closer ties between the United States and Brunei, which has enacted a new Sharia-based penal code that criminalizes homosexuality and threatens to punish single mothers by stoning to death.

The TPP’s inclusion of such notorious human rights abusers shocked and angered many members of Congress and leading human rights, labor, LGBT, women’s and religious organizations. See some of their statements of concern below. In the 5,000+ pages of the final TPP, the words “human rights” did not appear even once.
 

Featured Resources:

Press Room  |  Congress Speaks Out  |  Civil Society Speaks Out

 

Public Citizen Press Releases & Statements


Members of Congress Speak Out


Civil Society Organizations Speak Out