BHR

NGOs Release "Foundational Guide" on BHR Agenda

December 07, 2016

Three nongovernmental organizations, with support from the Dutch Government, have produced a "foundational guide" based on interviews with corporate representatives and business and human rights (BHR) "stakeholders on how corporations should implement the BHR agenda in their operations.
Business Groups Call for Adoption of BHR Action Plans

December 06, 2016

Demonstrating the impact of UN and nongovernmental organization pressure on businesses to accept and implement the business and human rights (BHR) agenda, a set of business associations has released a statement calling for countries to establish BHR national action plans and to foster transnational cooperation on BHR policies and enforcement.
NGO Coalition Seeks BHR Action over "Sustainability"

November 30, 2016

The European Coalition for Corporate Justice has criticized a European Commission Action Plan on implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals for only encouraging positive contributions by businesses while failing to clamp down on corporate conduct through a transnational, "legally binding business and human rights framework."
Bank Publishes Assessment of Labor Rights Impacts

November 30, 2016

A "social impact assessment" by the Netherlands-based ASN Bank and Impact Centre Erasmus exploring how the financial institution could, in line with the global business and human rights agenda, use its investments to promote the concept of the "living wage" includes a set of scorecards for apparel companies on wages in their supply chains.
Law Firms Convene Workshop on BHR Implementation

November 30, 2016

A group of nine law firms recently held a workshop in London as part of their Law Firm Business and Human Rights Peer Learning Process to discuss cooperation between and within law firms on complying with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to promoting these Principles in their global practices.
Ruggie Urges Focus on UNGPs to Achieve "Sustainability"

November 30, 2016

In remarks to the annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Harvard Professor John Ruggie urged businesses to focus on fulfilling the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), including by putting pressure on their supply chains, in order to contribute to the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals.
NGO Seeks New World Order in BHR Treaty

November 29, 2016

The nongovernmental organization Share the World's Resources has published an article lauding the potential of negotiations in Geneva over the development of a binding UN business and human rights treaty to bring about "a new international political, economic and legal order" by dismantling international trade deals and providing for the global regulation of corporate activities.
Rights Activists Call for Rejection of Trade Deals

November 29, 2016

A set of nongovernmental organizations have issued a statement calling for the rejection of various international trade agreements for failing to integrate the global human rights agenda, including economic and social rights, into their provisions and seeking the completion of "human rights impact assessments" prior to the adoption of any future trade deal.
IHRB Calls for BHR Due Diligence in Data Use

November 11, 2016

The Institute for Human Rights and Business has published a report calling on businesses using consumer data to market their products and services to perform due diligence under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to ensure that the source of the data did not violate anyone's human rights in obtaining it.
BHR Treaty Group Targets 2017 Talks on Final Content

November 11, 2016

In its report of the final day of the second negotiating session for a binding UN business and human rights (BHR) treaty, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice relates that the Working Group charged with developing the treaty held a discussion on mandatory remedies for BHR violations and targeted 2017 for talks on the final content of the treaty.