OECD Watch is not an international human rights body

The Press reports:

Quake-hit Christchurch homeowners are taking insurer IAG and Fletcher EQR to an international human rights body. …

International lawyer Steve Patterson, of WeCan, said he lodged an appeal against this decision with OECD Watch in the Hague (Netherlands).

MBIE accepted a first quake claim alleging an insurance company breached human rights earlier this year.

The OECD guidelines promote responsible business conduct and observance is not legally enforceable. They do not override New Zealand law or regulations. 

This is a poorly explained story. There is no “appeal” to OECD Watch. It is not an international body that is part of the OECD or any multi-national governmental organisation.

OECD Watch is a self-appointed group of civil society NGOs. It can’t hear an appeal from anyone. It can offer an opinion on any issue it wants. But that opinion has no more standing than an opinion from any other group of NGOs.