The role of international mechanisms in the Nestlé Crisis

Written by Ayman Okeil

Nestlé, a multinational company with more than 340 factories in 76 countries, half of which are in developing countries, sells its products in 188 countries worldwide. Despite the extensive presence of Nestlé, an investigative study conducted by the “Public Eye” organization in April 2024 in cooperation with the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) revealed Nestlé practice of employing double standards in selling children’s products to developing countries compared to European markets. Since the announcement of the investigative results, international mechanisms have not taken action to protect human rights.

Some people may find it unexpected that Nestlé’s practices are connected to international mechanisms. But what I would like to clarify is that there is a clear intersection and a strong relationship between them, as the working group concerned with human rights and corporate entities through national and other business institutions, among 46 thematic mandates within the United Nations’ special procedures, had established this mandate as an alternative to the mandate of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Business and Human Rights under resolution 4/17 adopted by the Human Rights Council on 16 June 2011. The task of the Working Group is to implement the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and these principles are based on three main pillars referred to as the United Nations framework on business and human rights. The same working group had invited Nestlé’s Deputy Director General to participate in developing the aforementioned guiding principles from a private sector perspective.

Therefore, the responsibility now falls on the working group to take action after the results of the investigations have emerged, confirming the existence of double standards followed by the company by adding sugar and honey to products for children, especially “Nido milk” sold to African countries and the Middle East, while the same products are sugar-free in European countries. The most dangerous aspect of following double standards is that these additions pose a health risk to children, as adding honey to products for children under 12 months old may lead to food poisoning and in some cases paralysis, which could result in death. According to credible medical research, children under 24 months should not consume foods containing sugars to avoid obesity or tooth decay, contradicting the company’s stated policy of respecting human rights on Nestlé’s website, which states Nestle’s commitment to international human rights law and UN guiding principles on business and human rights, as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Finally, the company’s violation of these principles and adherence to double standards require the working team and some other special rapporteurs, such as the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, to act to assess the health and nutritional effects of the company’s use of sugars in children’s products and urge the company to eliminate these double standards of selling lower quality products to developing countries that may harm children’s health.