BHR

NGOs Criticize Germany's BHR Record

August 16, 2017

Deutsche Welle reports that the nongovernmental organizations Germanwatch and Misereor have released a report documenting instances in which German companies violated the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR) and calling on the German government to establish a stronger framework requiring businesses to respect rights when operating abroad.
NGOs Urge Japan to Publish BHR Action Plan

August 14, 2017

A group of nongovernmental organizations has published an open letter to Japanese authorities calling on them to take "immediate steps" to publish a "national action plan" on implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR) and the Sustainable Development Goals that reflects global guidance issued by the UN Working Group on BHR issues.
CoE Holds Seminar on Business and Human Rights

August 14, 2017

The Council of Europe (CoE) has continued its push for its member countries to implement global standards on holding businesses responsible for alleged human rights violations across the globe, convening "international partners, national governments, experts, academics and civil society representatives" for a high-level seminar on "human rights and business" in June.
NGOs Push for Human Rights Reform in Trade Deals

August 11, 2017

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations have published a paper calling for the reform of the "investor-state dispute settlement" system model, present in nearly all modern trade deals, to provide for accountability under the global human rights and environmental agendas.
NGOs Call for EU Mandates on BHR in Finance Sector

August 11, 2017

A coalition of nongovernmental organizations has called on the EU to use its completion of the so-called "Capital Markets Union" to impose new regulations on the financial sector requiring broad "environmental, social, and governance" action, including public reporting, due diligence, and redress mechanisms in line with the global business and human rights (BHR) agenda.
UN Rights Office Provides BHR Guidance for Banks

August 10, 2017

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has provided broad guidance, in response to a request from a nongovernmental organization, on factors giving rise to a bank's involvement in a violation of the business and human rights (BHR) agenda, as well as its responsibility to redress such a violation and provide access to a "grievance mechanism."
FIFA Publishes Human Rights Policy

August 10, 2017

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has published its first Human Rights Policy, seeking to assure activists and other critics of the organization's past practices of its future commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
HRW Seeks BHR Investigator for Canadian Extractives

August 09, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch has published a submission to the UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) calling on the body to pressure Canada to appoint an independent ombudsperson to investigate and report on alleged, global BHR violations by Canadian oil, gas, and mining companies.
NGO Evaluates Italian BHR Action Plan

August 09, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights International Corner has published a review of the initial draft of the Italian National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (BHR), praising the plan for seeking BHR "due diligence" requirements for companies and calling for more civil society participation in the government's review of access to BHR remedies.
UN Group Pushes for BHR "Due Diligence" in Mexico

August 09, 2017

The UN Working Group on business and human rights (BHR) has published a report on its 2016 visit to Mexico calling on the country's government to consult with activists in creating a national action plan on BHR issues and pushing businesses to adopt BHR "due diligence procedures" and to publicly report on their efforts to implement these procedures.