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Anatomy of a business and human rights treaty?

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By Doug Cassel and Anita Ramasastry
In July an Intergovernmental Working Group will convene at the United Nations in Geneva to begin deliberations about a proposed treaty on business and human rights. But what kind of treaty? Professor Doug Cassel teaches transnational corporations and human rights at Notre Dame Law School in the US, and Professor Anita Ramasastry teaches business and human rights at the University of Washington School of Law in the US. For the American Bar Association Center for Human Rights, and the Law Society of England and Wales, they co-authored the White Paper: Options for a Treaty on Business and Human Rights (May 2015). As noted on its cover, public release of the paper is pending formal approvals by the organizations. The paper represents the views only of its authors, not of the organizations. About this Commentary At its June 2014 session, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution to launch a new inter-governmental process to draft an international treaty addressing human rights abuses involving businesses. As a contribution to international discussions on this topic, IHRB is featuring a series of personal perspectives from invited guests.

Invitation: Human Rights within the ICT Sector and its relevance to the OECD Guidelines on Multi-national Enterprises (MNEs)

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The UK National Contact Point (NCP) will host a workshop facilitated by IHRB on Friday 10 July 2015 to share experiences and ideas about the role of “Human Rights within the ICT Sector and its relevance to the OECD Guidelines on MNEs.
The UK National Contact Point (NCP) will host a workshop facilitated by IHRB at 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET on Friday 10 July 2015 from 09h30 - 15h00 to share experiences and ideas about the role of “Human Rights within the ICT Sector and its relevance to the OECD Guidelines on MNEs”.

How elephants can dance: Unilever’s human rights report sets a new benchmark for business

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by John Morrison, IHRB Executive Director
For a company that started out in the 1880s selling the world’s first branded soap made of the oil from pine kernels, Unilever plc. has come a long way. Today, Unilever has a global reach, and many of us likely use one or more of its products at some point each day. Therefore, in significant ways we are all contributing to the company’s performance and should have an interest in its new report on human rights – the first of its kind to comprehensively follow the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework.

More Effective Engagement between the European Union and Non-State Actors on Human Rights

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John Morrison was invited by the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre to discuss More Effective Engagement between the European Union and Non-State Actors on Human Rights.
John Morrison was invited by the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre to discuss More Effective Engagement between the European Union and Non-State Actors on Human Rights.  

New reports under the US State Department’s Burma reporting requirements underline the importance of thorough due diligence

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by Vicky Bowman, Director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB)
Coca Cola’s third report under the US Reporting Requirements for Burma confirms them once again as far ahead of their US and international peers in disclosure of the human rights and business integrity challenges they face in Myanmar.  It provides useful advice based on experience, and should be read closely not just by their international food and beverage peers in Myanmar such as Heineken, Carlsberg, Pepsi, Nestlé and Unilever, but by any company doing business there including local companies.

The Movement and the IGWiG

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by Mark Taylor, Research Director, Rights and Security, Fafo Research Foundation, Oslo
One year ago, a remarkable diplomatic consensus that had lasted the better part of a decade was seemingly shattered when the Human Rights Council passed two separate resolutions on business and human rights: one was focused on the continued work of implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs) while the other established an Open Ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEIWG) ‘to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises’.

Submission to the United Nations OEIWG on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights

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Submission to the United Nations open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights
Concerning possible principles, scope and elements of an international legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights  

Voices: Jessica Evans

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Jessica Evans is a Washington-based senior researcher and advocate who has been working on international financial institutions (IFIs) at Human Rights Watch. She has investigated violations in which the World Bank and other IFIs have been implicated.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently published a report which highlights the risks of reprisals human rights defenders face when they oppose projects financed by the World Bank. The report outlines how, in several projects around the world, security forces and government officials have threatened, arrested, or initimidated human rights defenders who challenge development projects that the World Bank has funded. Some projects involve companies, and others government agencies. The World Bank and the International finance Corporation (the World Bank Group's private sector lending arm) have standards such as performance safeguards,  compliance mechanisms, including an inspection panel  and the office of an ombudsman, which provide guidance on how the projects should be designed, and how the borrower is expected to operate. But the record of cases the HRW has unearthed shows that the systems are not working, and human rights defenders are at risk. Salil Tripathi of the Institute for Human Rights and Business spoke to Jessica Evans, the Washington-based senior researcher and advocate who has been working on international financial institutions (IFIs) at Human Rights Watch. She has investigated violations in which the World Bank and other IFIs have been implicated. In the conversation Evans talks about how widespread the practice is, whether the safeguards are effective or not, and what the World Bank Group can do in the wake of the emergence fo the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS Bank which China and other developing countries are in the process of developing. ... var cpo = []; cpo["_object"] ="cp_widget_13a6878a-ebd2-4369-85b9-d7a122bc5bfa"; cpo["_fid"] = "AUCATssRFl1V"; var _cpmp = _cpmp || []; _cpmp.push(cpo); (function() )(); Voices: Jessica EvansSalil Tripathi of the Institute for Human Rights and Business spoke to Jessica Evans, the Washington-based senior researcher and advocate who has been working on international financial institutions (IFIs) at Human Rights Watch. She has investigated violations in which the World Bank and other IFIs have been implicated. In the conversation Evans talks about how widespread the practice is, whether the safeguards are effective or not, and what the World Bank Group can do in the wake of the emergence fo the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS Bank which China and other developing countries are in the process of developing.Voices: Jessica EvansSalil Tripathi of the Institute for Human Rights and Business spoke to Jessica Evans, the Washington-based senior researcher and advocate who has been working on international financial institutions (IFIs) at Human Rights Watch. She has investigated violations in which the World Bank and other IFIs have been implicated.   Download Filetype: MP3 - Size: 13.01MB - Duration: 14:13 m (128 kbps 44100 Hz)

“Beyond Governments” by Eddie Rich and Jonas Moberg

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Review by John Morrison, Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Business
Making Collective Governance Work – Lessons from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative “Beyond Governments” is a rare thing – a book written on collective governance by practitioners who are still in the midst of practicing the art. In some ways, it is an autobiography of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) by two of its leading protagonists, and given the endorsements at the start of the book, it is very much an authorized one. The fact that the EITI’s final chapters have yet to be written makes the book more compelling and timely – there is a lot to learn for anyone engaged in collective governance initiatives. This is very timely as we approach the launch of the 2015-30 UN Sustainable Development Goals with governments, business and civil society far from agreeing how they should cooperate in their governance.

Launch of Draft Indicators to Measure Companies’ Human Rights Performance

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The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) has launched a public consultation on the first draft of indicators that will be used to rank companies on their human rights performance. CHRB is looking for feedback on the draft indicators.
The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), led by a group of investors, an NGO, a think tank and an investor research agency, has launched a public consultation on the first draft of indicators that will be used to rank companies on their human rights performance.  The CHRB is looking for feedback on the draft indicators in advance of their first application in a pilot ranking in June 2016.

Migrant Workers’ Right to Health: A Global Advocacy Agenda

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by Carolyn Rodehau and David Wofford, Meridian Group International, Inc. & the Evidence Project/RAISE Health Initiative
Recent headlines describing the plight of thousands of migrants drowning at sea as they tried to make their way from Africa to Europe, are but the most recent reminders of the treacherous journey many encounter in their search for work. Yet, these and other dangers are only part of the story. Carolyn Rodehau is Program Associate with Meridian Group International, Inc., an Evidence Project partner. David Wofford is Senior Advisor for Workplace Policies for the USAID-funded Evidence Project and its workplace activity, the RAISE Health Initiative.

Towards Mandatory Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence at the EU Level?

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By Arnaud Poitevin, PhD candidate in international law, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France.
How a French Bill could make European business and human rights hard law Arnaud Poitevin is a PhD candidate in International Law at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France.

Francesca Fairbairn

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Francesca Fairbairn is Administrator at the Institute for Human Rights and Business.
Administrator Francesca has several years’ experience in corporate responsibility, both on the client and administrative sides of the business. She graduated from Newcastle University and has a Masters in Population Studies from the LSE. She has volunteered with several human rights and social organisations over the years.

New Team Member: Francesca Fairbairn

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The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is delighted to welcome Francesca Fairbairn to the team in the new role of Administrator.
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is delighted to welcome Francesca Fairbairn to the team in the new role of Administrator.

John Morrison: Business and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: How Can We Deepen Scale and Impact?

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By John Morrison, Executive Director, Institute for Human Rights and Business
The role of the private sector in realizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is widely recognized. What remains unclear is how exactly business should contribute most effectively and responsibly to the broad development objectives that government leaders will adopt this September. The SDGs will affirm the importance of the private sector in achieving economic and social progress, but they still fall short in setting the terms for responsible business practices through due diligence, accountability and transparency necessary for sustainable partnerships and development outcomes that benefit all people.

A Proposal for an International Arbitration Tribunal on Business and Human Rights

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by Claes Cronstedt and Robert C. Thompson
We have attended many forums, conferences and seminars where participants are desperately asking why, after years of endless high-level rhetoric, there is no access to justice for victims of corporate abuse of human rights – a disgrace to society. Claes Cronstedt is member of the Swedish bar and a former international partner of Baker & McKenzie. He has been involved in international human rights litigation, in particular the Raoul Wallenberg Case against the USSR. He has been a trustee of International Alert, London, working with peaceful transformation of violent conflicts (1999-2006). In 2006-2008 he was a member of the International Commission of Jurists’ Expert Legal Panel on Corporate Complicity in International Crimes. He is the founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Academy for Young Leaders. Robert C. Thompson (AB, LLB Harvard University) is a member of the California bar, a former Associate General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a former partner of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP, where he was the chairman of the firm’s international environment, health and safety practice. Following his retirement in 1999, he has been active in human rights research and writing.

Voices: Lara White

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Lara White is Senior Labour Migration Specialist at IOM in Geneva, Switzerland. She spoke to Neill Wilkins of IHRB.
Neill Wilkins, Project Manager: Migrant Workers and Work With Dignity, speaks to Lara White, Senior Labour Migration Specialist at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Geneva, Switzerland. IOM is an inter-governmental organisation committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits both migrants and society. As the leading global organisation for migration, IOM works with migrants, governments and its partners in the international community to provide humane responses to the growing migration challenges of today. Here Lara talks about the international recruitment of migrant workers, the challenges they face in migrating for work abroad and the work of IOM to develop the IRIS certification system for ethical recruitment agencies ... var cpo = []; cpo["_object"] ="cp_widget_f5589ddc-c9e0-4c18-ad80-385126882d95"; cpo["_fid"] = "A4MAjxMG4Edv"; var _cpmp = _cpmp || []; _cpmp.push(cpo); (function() )(); Powered by Cincopa Video Hosting for Business solution.Voices: Lara WhiteLara WHITE Senior Labour Migration Specialist Labour Migration and Human Development Division IOM HQ - Geneva, SwitzerlandVoices: Lara WhiteSenior Labour Migration Specialist Labour Migration and Human Development Division IOM HQ - Geneva, Switzerland   Download Filetype: MP3 - Size: 6.38MB - Duration: 6:57 m (128 kbps 44100 Hz)

ICTs and Elections: Tackling Network Shutdowns, Hate Speech and Surveillance in Myanmar

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by Lucy Purdon, Project Manager: ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
Myanmar will hold its much-anticipated general election on November 8th 2015. The Internet will play an important role in these elections. The country’s ICT sector is developing at speed and there are many ways companies could have a positive impact. Civil society groups are developing innovative ways to utilise new communication tools, including disseminating information about voter lists and assisting with election monitoring.

Can the Construction Industry Build Itself a Slavery-Free Future?

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by Neill Wilkins, IHRB Project Manager for Migrant Workers and Work with Dignity
In recent years the issues of forced labour and human trafficking have risen higher on the political agenda than ever before. As awareness has grown, the world has come to learn such exploitation is far more common than was previously known and touches many aspects of our lives. Far from being an aberration, and a manifestation of criminal activity confined to the shadowy parts of the economy, in reality abusive labour practices are a fairly common feature of many areas of business activity and modern supply chains.

Recruiting: Dynamic and Experienced full-time Researcher

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Thank you for your interest in working for the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
Thank you for your interest in working for the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
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