People and the Planet

Entebbe Declaration
RECLAIMING INVESTMENT FRAMEWORKS
FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

Entebbe Declaration
People and the Planet
Entebbe Declaration
RECLAIMING INVESTMENT FRAMEWORKS
FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
We, representatives of civil society organisations ( CSO S), grassroots move‐
ments, think‐tanks, faith based organisations and advocacy groups working
on investment and development related issues, convened at the Civil Society
Forum in Entebbe, Uganda, from 26 to 29 November 2024, united under the
theme “Aligning Investment Policy Frameworks to Climate and Sustainable
Development Goals”, came together with a singular purpose: to demand
transformative frameworks of international investment agreements ( IIA S) and
policies. These frameworks must advance human rights, gender, climate and
environmental justice, and sustainable economic and industrial development
– not perpetuate systems of exploitation and inequality rooted in unbalanced
economic models and profit maximisation.
Investment is essential for tackling global challenges, from mitigating and
adapting to the impacts of climate change to fostering inclusive and resilient
economies. However, the current system of IIAs is rooted in outdated eco‐
nomic paradigms that fail to serve the needs of people and the planet. These
agreements disproportionately prioritise the profits of multinational corpora‐
tions ( MNC S) at the expense of economic, social, cultural, and environmental
rights. As a result, they have entrenched countries in a cycle of extractivism,
environmental degradation, and economic dependency, undermining efforts to
achieve sustainable and equitable development.
At a time when the world faces compounding crises – climate emergencies,
post‐Covid economic struggles, increasing indebtedness, an increasing cost of
living, and soaring inequality and impoverishment – international investment
policies must be governed by a new vision anchored within the principles and 2
values of social justice. The recent failure of COP29 to deliver sufficient

Entebbe Declaration
climate financing, coupled with renewed calls for the reform of the global
financial and trade architecture, underscores the inadequacies of the current
global governance systems to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals
( SDG S). In addition, the billions paid by developing countries in investor–state
dispute settlement ( ISDS) cases – often at the expense of public health,
environmental safeguards, and social programmes – further illustrate the
intrinsic flaws of current international investment frameworks. bute unpaid
care work, advancing gender equity and community well‐being.

The time for change is now. Civil society demands international investment
frameworks that are aligned with economic justice, social and environmental
sustainability, and the needs of communities worldwide.
WHAT WE DEMAND
1. A Framework for Sustainable Investment
Investment must not come at the cost of the environment, human
dignity, or the rights of host communities. We demand that all
future investment frameworks:
• Integrate mandatory commitments to climate and environmental
justice and financing for climate mitigation and adaptation measures.
• Ensure human rights compliance, respect for labour rights, gender
justice, and community‐led decision‐making, e.g. through mandatory
social and human rights impact assessments, financial impact
assessments, and compliance with international due diligence norms
and standards, and through strengthening institutional capacities.
• Prioritise local value addition and prohibit exploitative
resource extraction practices.
• Promote green and just transitions by directing investments into
renewable energy, circular economies, and sustainable infrastructure,
while ensuring investors disengage responsibly from fossil fuels,
addressing and remediating environmental and social harm.
• Shift the focus from industrial agriculture to agroecology by prioritising
investments in sustainable, climate‐resilient, and locally led Indigenous
farming systems that enhance biodiversity, protect ecosystems, em‐
power smallholder farmers, and uphold local food sovereignty.
• Invest in accessible, high‐quality public services – such as healthcare,
education, childcare, and water supply systems – that directly benefit
women and redistribute unpaid care work, advancing gender equity and
community well‐being.
• Ensure decent work by aligning investments with International Labour
Organisation (ILO) conventions, promoting fair wages, safe conditions,
and collective bargaining, and eliminating forced labour, child labour, and
discrimination, with a focus on marginalised groups and equitable access. 3

Entebbe Declaration
• Invest in gender‐disaggregated data that captures the diverse
identities, lived realities, and experiences of structurally marginalised
groups, highlighting how intersecting vulnerabilities are exacerbated by
investment agreements that undermine environmental sustainability
and human rights.
2. Dismantling ISDS: A Flawed System of Corporate Power
Investor–state dispute settlement ( ISDS) mechanisms are a central pillar of
the injustice entrenched in current international investment agreements
( IIA S). By enabling corporations to sue states over regulations designed to
protect public interest, ISDS undermines democracy and state sovereignty.
We call for the immediate dismantling of ISDS and its replacement with:
• Strong domestic legal systems: Empower national courts and prioritise
national laws to regulate corporate conduct and adjudicate investment
disputes transparently and fairly.
 • Regional dispute settlement mechanisms: Develop equitable regional
frameworks for dispute settlement that balance investor rights with
public accountability and require exhaustion of domestic remedies.
• Closing global governance gaps on corporate accountability: Support
and engage with global instruments under the UN framework,
including the proposed UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human
Rights, that prioritise sustainable development and human rights
over investor protections.
3. Ending Exploitative Practices in Africa
and other Global South Economies
African resources have long been exploited under colonial, neocolonial, and
neoliberal investment regimes that have continued at the behest of the
international finance and economic institutions (International Monetary
Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organisation) and related free trade and
strategic partnership agreements. We demand:
• Investment treaties that mandate technology and skills transfer, ensur‐
ing that local economies develop industrial and productive capacity,
create decent jobs, and strengthen domestic economic resilience.
• Prioritising local industrial development by ensuring African and other
Southern states have the policy and economic space to add value to
their resources before export, fostering sustainable development. In
the current energy transition, it is vital that Africa’s transition minerals
support structural transformation rather than reinforce the extractive
agendas of the global North.
• Policy instruments such as subsidies, tariffs, local content requirements,
and incentives must actively support the sustainable production of
goods, services, and energy, strengthening local economies and
promoting long‐term resilience.
• Full adherence to the right of all affected communities to give or
withhold their free, prior, and informed consent ( FPIC).
• Policy coherence across industrial, trade, investment, taxation, and 4
fiscal policies, and international collaboration to achieve structural

Entebbe Declaration
transformation and broader developmental objectives.
4. No to Financialisation of the Economy
Investment should not be a vehicle for deepening dependency or financial
exploitation. We reject the prioritisation of private capital interests over
public welfare. We demand:
• Shifting the narrative from profit‐driven “development” to justice‐driven
sustainable investment. Transformative sustainable development is
radically and structurally different from today’s extractive development.
It works to ensure collective wellbeing, respect for local realities and
planetary boundaries, and the creation of decent economic
opportunities and jobs that centre the structurally marginalised.
• Investment be channelled to the real economy – industry, agriculture,
and non‐financial services to promote structural transformation.
5. Strengthening African‐Led Solutions
Regional frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area
( A F CFTA) must be prioritised and strengthened to serve people and the
planet. African countries should domesticate progressive models like the
African Mining Vision and the A F CFTA Protocol on Investment¹, which
emphasises responsible resource management, equitable growth, and
human and environmental rights.
6. Transparency, Accountability, and CSO Participation
Investment frameworks must be developed transparently, with inclusive
participation from civil society and impacted communities. We demand:
• Binding commitments by states to full transparency in trade and
investment negotiations, agreements, and policy‐making.
• Legal obligations for investors to adhere to environmental and social safe‐
guards and to set up mechanisms for complaints/grievance and remedy.
• Mechanisms for civil society organisation oversight to hold governments
and investors accountable.

WHAT MUST END

1. Obsolete and Exploitative Trade and Investment Agreements
• Terminate all IIA S that privilege investor profits over public welfare,
particularly those with ISDS clauses.
• Reject frameworks that exacerbate human rights abuses, ecological
destruction, labour exploitation, and economic inequality.
2. Unchecked Corporate Power
• Prohibit corporations from using international arbitration mechanisms
that bypass domestic legal systems.
• Ban tax incentives that drain public resources and fail to
deliver meaningful development. 5

Entebbe Declaration
3. Development Narratives that Marginalise the Majority
• Investment agreements must no longer treat sustainability, gender
justice, or human rights as optional or secondary.

[1] [Link]
OUR COMMITMENT AS CIVIL SOCIETY
Civil society organisations play a critical role in ensuring that people and the
planet come before profits. We commit to:
• Strengthening our coalitions across borders to demand systemic
reform of investment governance.
• Supporting governments in terminating harmful treaties and
negotiating fairer agreements.
• Empowering communities through capacity strengthening and
awareness to participate in investment processes and decisions and
advocate for governments and investors to respect and uphold human
and environmental rights.
• Amplifying the voices of grassroots movements to challenge exploitative
systems across different areas (investments, trade, debt, tax/fiscal
policies, etc.) that exacerbate global inequality.

A CALL TO ACTION
We call for an immediate moratorium on signing new international investment
agreements and demand a comprehensive audit to assess the impacts of existing
harmful agreements. We urge policy‐makers, governments, and international
institutions to adopt a transformative agenda for investment governance – one
that prioritises justice, sustainability, environmental protection, and the inherent
dignity of all people. Only through bold and systemic changes can we create a
future where investment serves as a force for life, sustainability, and equity.
Adopted this 29th day of November 2024
At the Civil Society Forum, Entebbe, Uganda 6

Entebbe Declaration