BHR

UN Working Group: Brazil Lags in BHR Implementation

January 05, 2016

At the conclusion of its recent visit to Brazil, the UN Working Group on business and human rights ("BHR") expressed concerns that Brazilian businesses generally were not aware of the UN's BHR agenda and that infrastructure projects were affecting the human rights of locals, calling in response for the government to proceed with plans to develop a BHR action plan.
Ruggie Takes Charge of FIFA's BHR Plan

December 30, 2015

Under the auspices of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Professor John Ruggie and his team at the nongovernmental organization Shift have accepted a request from the International Federation of Association Football ("FIFA") to develop a plan to "embed" Ruggie's UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR") in the organization's activities.
Ireland Publishes Outline of BHR Action Plan

December 30, 2015

The Government of Ireland has published an outline of its national action plan showing how the country plans to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR").
NGO Calls for Countries to Perform HRIAs on Tax Policies

December 30, 2015

Arguing that corporate avoidance of taxes contributes to human-rights violations and to global warming, the nongovernmental organization Center for Economic and Social Rights has published a report calling for countries to perform human rights impact assessments ("HRIAs") to determine how their tax policies might affect the fulfillment of human rights in other parts of the world.
Academics Explore Effects of UNGPs on Land Acquisition

December 30, 2015

Dr. Jérémie Gilbert and Dr. Nadia Bernaz have published a book chapter analyzing the effects of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("UNGPs") on business obligations toward indigenous peoples when acquiring land on which they live, arguing that the "human rights legal framework" calls for business dialogue with affected people prior to "resource grabbing."
Law Organizations Seek out BHR Treaty Options

December 29, 2015

An article from Professors Anita Ramasastry of the University of Washington School of Law and Doug Cassel of Notre Dame Law School, requested by the American Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales, considers various options for a global binding treaty on business and human rights ("BHR").
UN Working Group Assesses Brazil's Actions on BHR Agenda

December 28, 2015

The UN Working Group on business and human rights ("BHR") issues recently sent two observers to Brazil to meet with representatives from government, business, civil society, unions, and other sectors to determine the level of implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on BHR by the government and businesses in the country.
NGO Seeks Prosecution of BHR-Violating Companies

December 22, 2015

A report from the UK nongovernmental organization Traidcraft has called for the British Government to prosecute companies that commit "serious" violations of the global business and human rights ("BHR") agenda in other countries.
NGO Criticizes EU for Not Supporting BHR Treaty

December 22, 2015

The nongovernmental organization Friends of the Earth Europe has published a paper deriding the EU and its member states for supporting "corporate rights" through an investor-state dispute mechanism in its trade agreements but taking measures to oppose a wide-ranging, binding UN treaty on business and human rights ("BHR").
UN Agent Seeks Remedies for Forced Labor in Supply Chains

December 21, 2015

The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery Urmila Bhoola has called on countries to ramp up remedies and corporate liability for alleged forced labor in company supply chains and has pushed businesses to "leverage [their] extensive capacity and resources" to end these practices.